Don't Disturb the Dead (rewritten)
by raccoonlikespineapple
Summary: Things at court are finally back to normal (or as normal as it gets). When an old "friend" makes an appearance though, things are bound to get interesting. Babies, weddings, strigoi, and drama ahead!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, I know it took long, but I had major writers block so here's chapter one of Don't Disturb the Dead (rewritten). Also, a warning, if you have not read the bloodlines, serise, things may be a bit complicated to understand, but not impossible. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

Don't Disturb the Dead (rewritten)

 **Chapter 1**

 **Rose POV**

"Hi, I'm Leena, and I'll be you're server today, can I start you guys out with something to drink?" It was early March, and we had decided to visit a new bar that had recently opened about an hour away from court. By 'we' I meant Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Sydney, their two year old son Declan, Eddie (who was there as Adrian and Sydney's guardian), myself and Dimitri. We were celebrating Lissa and Christian's one month wedding anniversary. "Yeah, I'll take a beer", said Christian. "Same", said Adrian. The rest of us ordered our drinks, and the waitress went to retrieve our drinks, but not before giving a flirty wink, to whom it was directed, I wasn't sure, although I was fairly certain I saw her eyeing up Dimitri when she had first come over. She wore a short skirt that went just below her bottom, a faded red tee-shirt that showed off an ample amount of cleavage, and a pair of four inch wedges. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled into two low pigtails that reached her shoulders. I couldn't help but glare at the back of her head as she skipped away. We talked about nothing in particular as we waited, and soon after she brought us our drinks, we ordered our food. Once our food was served, I dug into my steak, and loved how it felt as though it melted in my mouth. Sometime during our meal, I noticed that a girl walked by, but not before placing her palm on the table, leaving a slip of paper in its place. I immediately noticed that 'Belikov' was written on it in blocky hand writing. He failed to notice, as he was observing everything else around us. I tapped his shoulder, as to get his attention, and his head snapped over to look at me, I handed him the piece of paper.

"Someone left this on the table, it's for you". Confusion immediately marred his features. He stared at it for a moment before unfolding it, I couldn't help but notice that his jaw immediately clenched. Abruptly, he stood up and said he would be right back.

"What did the note say?" I asked.

"Nothing", he said before quickly exiting out the front door. I grabbed the note, which he had left on the table in his rush to leave.

 _Parking lot. Now._

 _-Pandora_

I stared at it confused. Adrian looked over my shoulder to see what it said, his brow creased in confusion.

"Whose Pandora?" he asked

"No idea, but I'm going to find out" I said before standing up and heading out, Adrian right behind me.

Sydney gave him an odd look, she was holding a spoonful of macaroni and cheese in front of Declan. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before following me. I hadn't even exited the building when I heard shouting. I rushed out the door to see Dimitri covering his nose, attempting to stop the stream of blood gushing out. The girl in front of him seething, her fists clenched. She wore a fair of blue skinny jeans and a red shirt that I had seen on our waitress. She wore a fair of black converse and her maroon hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. The most curious thing about her though, was that she appeared to be human.

I rushed over to him. "Are you okay? What happened?" I asked worriedly.

He just grunted in response, before turning back to glare at the girl. She looked to be no older than 17, 18 at most. She glared back, before shouting at him in what sounded like Russian, he shouted back, his hand still covering his nose.

"You okay cousin?" asked Adrian.

Soon after Adrian had found out that his uncle was in fact Dimitri's father, he had started referring to him as cousin. Dimitri just waved him off, grunting that he was fine.

The blood flow had slowed down a bit, and I turned my attention to the girl, whom I assumed to be Pandora. I just glared, which she shrugged in response, muttering that he deserved it. I couldn't help but notice that she had an accent, which sounded much like my mother's Scottish one.

"Somehow, I seriously doubt that." I responded cooly. She crossed her arms and huffed.

"No, I probably did", he said, wincing in pain. I raised an eyebrow at him, or rather, attempted to.

"Rose, this is Pandora, Pandora, this is Rose and Adrian." He introduced us.

"Are you sure that you should be fighting in your condition?" Adrian asked her.

"I'm sorry, what?" Pandora asked.

"The baby, I could be wrong but I don't think that fighting is good for the baby", he said.

She just looked at him strangely, "What? I'm not pregnant." She stated.

"Then you ate a baby or something because there's an aura around your stomach.

"What?" she asked, looking at him as if he were crazy.

"I'm a spirit user, I can read auras", he explained.

"Like Oksana", Dimitri explained to her.

"That's great, but I'm not pregnant", she snapped

"You're dating someone?" Dimitri asked in disbelief.

She snorted, "Of course not, why would you think that?"

"Maybe because you're pregnant."

"No, I'm not."

"If Adrian can see the aura of your baby, then you're probably pregnant"

She crossed her arms "I'm not pregnant", she insisted.

"Maybe you could take a pregnancy test", I suggested.

"I. Am. Not. Pregnant." She emphasized.

"Yes, you are" Adrian insisted.

"That's impossible." She said.

"No, actually, it's not. See, the way things work is that when two people love each other, they can make babies."

She snorted.

"Yeah, but the last person I slept with, I hate. So according to your logic, it's not possible" she responded.

"Who was it?" Dimitri asked.

"That's none of your business. I don't ask you who you fuck around with, although I'm 95% sure it's your fiancée", she said.

"How do you know Rose is my fiancée?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes, "engagement ring on her right hand", she said matter-o-factly

"And why only 95% sure?" he asked again.

"I may not like you, but I do know that you wouldn't cheat on someone you're with, at least I doubt you would, believe it or not, I'm not always right", she replied.

"I would never cheat on Roza"

"I know"

"Good, glad we're on the same page"

"Hey, what's going on?" a new voice asked. I turned around to see Christian, Lissa, and Sydney, who was carrying Declan.

"We finished and Declan started fussing, so decided it was time to go, we got you're guys' food wrapped up though", she said, holding up a plastic bag which I guessed was full of styrofoam food containers.

"Thanks, Liss", I said.

"Great, more people", I heard Pandora mutter.

"Oh! Hi! I'm sorry! I'm Lissa, it's nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Dimitri's?" She asked.

"Yes, I know, no, it's not nice to meet you, and hell no, I hope he falls off a cliff." She responded, causing Sydney to wince as she and Adrian were trying to keep Declan from learning how to curse. I had gotten much better and now only occasionally cursed.

Lissa frowned before she had noticed Dimitri still trying to stop the bleeding, which had slowed down significantly. "Oh! Dimitri! What happened! Here, I'll get that. She said before moving his hand out of the way. She had already healed his nose before he could have a chance to protest, leaving a mess of dried blood.

"Thank you, but that wasn't necessary your highness", he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I told you to call me Lissa", she said before turning back to Pandora before widening her eyes.

"Oh! You're pregnant! Lucky, Christian and I have been trying to have a baby for months now with no luck." She said. She had been practicing with auras for quite some time now, and had become significantly better at reading them.

Pandora threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"What the fuck is wrong with you all? How many times do I have to tell you that I am not pregnant"

Again, Sydney winced.

"Then prove it", said Dimitri, crossing his arms. She seemed to be important to him, although she could clearly care less about him.

She huffed. "Fine", she grumbled before stomping away.

"Shouldn't you finish work first, or at least let your boss know you're leaving?" Asked Dimitri.

"No", she snapped. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Eddie, Rose, do you mind taking them back to court, I want to make sure that Pandora gets home safely", he said.

"I'm coming with you", I said.

"Please, I need you to stay with them and keep them safe", he said.

"It's fine, I can take them. It's only ten minutes away. Besides, if we run into any strigoi Christian, Sydney and I can handle them", said Eddie, speaking up for the first time tonight.

Dimitri heasitated before responding, "Thank you, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Just let me know when you guys are done and I'll come get you", said Eddie.

"It's fine, we can walk", I said to him. Eddie just shrugged before turning around, leading the others back to the car, keeping a close watch on his surroundings as he did so.

"I've got to say, I'm surprised you didn't put up a fight", Dimitri said to Pandora when they had driven off, which she returned with a glare before turning around and stomping off, to what I assumed was the direction of the closest grocery store or pharmacy.

It was about a ten minute walk to the nearest pharmacy, and Pandora stomped the whole way, Dimitri and I right behind her, our hands clasped together.

She stalked through the entrance went over to the health care isle, and found a pregnancy test, which she proceded to slam onto the counter that held the register, effectively startling the dozing cashier. When she was done she stalked to the back of the store and slammed the door to what I assumed to be the bathroom. Dimitri and I moved over to the waiting area by the prescription pick-up place, and sat down in the plastic chairs.

"So how do you guys know eachother?" I asked Dimitri.

"She and I went to high school together", he said, "we were really close." I decided not to ask how she had managed to attend an academy that didn't allow humans other than feeders, at least that I knew of.

"How close?" I asked quietly, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"We dated once, but that was freshman year and it ended up with me in the ER", he said. I gasped.

"What happened?"

"She stabbed my shoulder with a stake", he said.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said sincerely. He just waved it off.

"It was my fault anyways." He said, I just looked at him curiously.

"She was angry and I tried to get her to calm down and she stabbed me during gym class", he responded.

"How did she have a stake?"

"Grabbed it off a guardian's belt when he came over to see what all the yelling was about. She would have gotten expelled if not for Yeva, who scared the hell out of the headmaster and proceeded to call him an idiot, to put it nicely", he said, smiling lightly at the memory.

We spent the next twenty minutes in silence before I finally spoke up.

"What's taking so long?" I wondered aloud. Dimitri just shrugged.

He and I got up and walked over to the bathroom before I knocked.

"Pandora? It's Rose and Dimitri, are you okay?" I asked.

No reply.

"Pandora?" I said again.

Still no response.

I opened the door only to find it empty, the test laying on the floor. Dimitri went over, picked it up and looked at it before cursing in Russian, rushing out of the store. I ran after him, and saw him looking around frantically. Then we heard a scream, we looked at each other before rushing off into that direction.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, sorry I kept re writing this chapter but I couldn't get it quite how I liked it so I settled for this. Hope you all enjoy! Also, thank you so much for the reviews I love you all!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Pandora POV**

I ran. It was the only thing I could think to do. I'm not sure where I was running, I just ran as fast as I could.

I sprinted down the deserted streets going wherever my feet took me. I had been running for about five minutes when I hit something hard. I waited for the impact of the sidewalk to come, but it never did. Instead, two arms wrapped around me, saving me from the fall. I looked up and my blood immediately turned cold.

I was looking straight into two blood-red eyes.

The man dropped his arms and I turned around to run away, I doubted I would get very far though. I was fast, but strigoi were faster. Before I could get even two feet, he wrapped his arms around my waist, trapping me. I struggled, even though I knew it was no use.

My hand lit up and he immediately backed away, screaming in pain. Usually, I would fight, but I had my doubts that I would win, and decided that I should run while he was distracted. Again though, I was trapped.

In front of me stood two more men, both bigger than I was, and I thought I could feel the blood drain from my face. I saw my life flashing before my eyes, and backed away slowly, the fact that there was another strigoi behind me completely left my mind. I could hear my heart pounding through my ears, it was deafening. I finally remembered that the other guy was behind me when it was already too late. He grabbed my arms and pinned me behind my back, successfully preventing me from conjuring any fire magic. I struggled against him as the others got closer, their wicked smiles making me nauseous. I was dead. There was no way out. After everything I had been through, I was going to die in an alley, my neck being snapped, and I would never be able to kill the father of my baby. That's what enraged me most. I wanted to slit his throat and yell at him, blaming him for everything. It was his fault, and he would never know it. I would never get to see my baby sister again, or watch my mom walk down the aisle in a white gown, with a smile on her face. I would never get a chance to finish college, my life was over, and I was going to die without being able to fight back. I laughed humorously at my situation before squeezing my eyes shut, waiting for the darkness to consume me. Why put up a fight when there was no hope? The darkness never came though, instead, a loud screech filled the air. My eyes snapped open just in time to watch as one of the strigoi fell to the ground, dead. I guess the devil wasn't ready to deal with me yet, not that I'm complaining. Rose pulled her stake from out of the strigois back before running at me and the other strigoi holding me. Before she got the chance though, he burst into flames, again, but this time he was completely engulfed. She looked at me strangely before going over to Dimitri, who had just dispatched his strigoi.

"You okay?" she asked him, touching his cheek. I decided to attempt to run, again, while they were distracted, key word being attempt.

"Pandora", Dimitri said in a stern voice.

"Dimitri", I said, trying my best to mimic him. Although it just came out as a pathetic attempt. You try speaking in a Russian accent when you yourself sound like a leprechaun. It doesn't work too well. I could see Rose trying to stifle a laugh.

"Which way?" Dimitri asked.

"Huh?" I asked.

"To your house, which way is it", he said.

"None of your business. Go. Home." I said "I don't want, nor do I need your help." I turned to leave, knowing very well that he was going to follow me whether I liked it or not.

Might as well tell my roommate the news now, besides, I wanted to yell at him for getting me knocked up.

When I finally reached the front of the apartment building I opened the door and walked in, not even waiting for Rose and Dimitri to catch up (not that they were that far behind, they were practically stepping on my heels the whole time. I hiked up the three flights of stairs and the first thing I heard was yelling. I groaned, it was Wednesday, which meant game night. Stupid stupid roommate.

Rose and Dimitri had their hands on their stakes, but I just waved them off.

"It's game night, they're not in trouble", I assured them. They looked hesitant but eventually relaxed a bit.

I opened the door, knowing that it wouldn't be locked, and prepared myself for the oncoming storm. When I walked inside, I think part of me died inside. The white carpet was littered with chips and empty beer cans. The air smelled like burnt popcorn and sweaty socks. It was revolting. I walked over to the TV set and unplugged it from the wall. Groans and shouts immediately filled the room.

"So help me god, if you all do not get out right now, I will castrate every single one of you", I said through clenched teeth.

"Damnit man, I thought you said she wouldn't be back until eleven", complained one guy. He had greasy blonde hair and was in desperate need of a shower. My roommate just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"What part of get out now do you all not understand?" I shouted.

"Calm your tits", said another guy, Justin was his name. He had brown hair that was cut close to his scalp and reeked of cologne and cigarettes. Tattoos lined his arms and he wore all black, in fact, I don't think I've ever seen him wear any other color than black. He was the guy that nobody wanted to mess with because if he really wanted to, he could beat you to a pulp. He didn't scare me though, I've been around him enough to know that he wouldn't actually hurt someone unless they really deserved it, and he would never lay a hand on a girl (even though that's sexist as hell, I still respect him for that).

He looked at me and immediately his eyes widened, and he whistled. I guess he saw Rose.

He got up and walked towards her.

"Hey babe", he said to her. I just rolled my eyes in disgust.

"Justin, get out. Now." I told him "and take the rest of the pests with you", Justin was the only one of the group who I tolerated. He and I both went to school together and for the most part, he wasn't too bad. But the minute some attractive girl walks by, any decency that can be found in him is lost.

He just grumbled in response. He was sort of like the leader in the group, and nobody wanted to cross him. He turned away from Rose and waved for the four other guys to get up and out of there. They got up to leave, of course not bothering to clean up their mess, all muttering about how I was a bitch. When the last one left I looked over to Dimitri, who looked like he was about to go into shock. I would to if I had just seen my best friend who was supposed to be dead.

"I thought you weren't coming back until ele-" Ivan started. His eyes widened at the sight of Dimitri, and I knew he was at loss for words. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and looked around at anything but his best friend. They stood there for what felt like a good ten minutes, although in reality it had just been one or two, until finally I snapped.

"Will one of you say something damnit? My god, you two see each other for the first time in years and you don't even look at one another!" I threw my hands up.

"Umm, hey" Ivan said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, still not looking at Dimitri.

"Ivan", Dimitri said in almost a whisper.

"Hey Dimka", Ivan responded sheepishly.

"Wait, Ivan? As in Ivan Zeklos your old charge?" Rose asked in disbelief "As in Ivan who _died_?"

"Yeah, that's me", Ivan answered for Dimitri. Awkward silence followed that.

"Great reunion guys, maybe next time though you could tone it down", I said sarcastically. Dimitri turned to me and I waited for him to start yelling at me.

"I spent four years thinking that my best friend was dead, and it turns out, that he's been alive the whole time!?" he shouted.

"Maybe if you didn't leave then you would have known", I responded.

"That's not the point. You couldn't spend five minutes of your time to bother to tell me?"

"Yeah, because that's a really great conversation to have over the phone. 'Hey, how are you? I just wanted to let you know that your dead best friend isn't actually dead' because that would have turned out really well", my voice filled with sarcasm.

"No but you could have asked me to come see you and tell me then."

"We both know that you wouldn't have come."

"Were you even going to tell me?" I could hear the hurt in his voice.

"Of course."

"Liar."

"Fuck off, now I you don't mind, I'm going to go to bed. Besides, I'm pretty sure that stress isn't good for the baby", I said before turning around and walking to my bedroom.

"Wait, what baby?" Asked Ivan. I wanted to slap him.

"Oh! Right, by the way, congrats, you're going to be a dad", I said with mock cheer. Ivan just burst out laughing. If I wasn't going to hit him before, I sure as hell was now. When he noticed the serious look on my face he stopped before looking at me in disbelief.

"You're not serious", he said. I rolled my eyes before turning back around and stalking to my room.

"Rose and Dimitri, feel free to crash on the couch, Ivan, you can sleep in the hallway. Goodnight." I said before slamming the door. I took a deep breath before stripping off my clothes and pulling on an oversized tee shirt and climbing into bed. I felt tears prick the back of my eyes and before I knew it I was sobbing uncontrollably for the second time tonight. What the hell have I gotten myself into?


	3. Chapter 3

**Rose POV**

I went down the hallway of Pandora and Ivan's apartment, hoping to get a chance to talk to Pandora. Ivan and Dimitri were just sitting awkwardly in the living room, and the silence was insufferable. I knocked on the door of Pandora's room and waited. When I thought I heart her murmuring softly to someone, I opened the door slightly, curious to see who she was talking to.

"What's the point of knocking if you're just going to come in anyways?" She asked, not even looking at me. She was laying against a heap of pillows on her bed. The comforter was dark purple and the bed was neatly made, only slightly rumpled due to her laying on it. The walls were a slate grey color and covered in photographs. There was a desk with a laptop that was neatly organized and a fairly large bookshelf that was crammed with textbooks that appeared to be organized in alphabetical order. There was a fish tank on a stand that was full of fish of all colors and a pet bed on the ground just by her bed. A small brown kitten was curled up on her chest, it's greenish yellow eyes squinted at me before fluttering shut.

"Sorry", I said.

Pandora sat up and placed the kitten in her lap before patting the spot next to her.

"You can sit down", I accepted her invitation but only sat on the edge of the bed, convinced that the cat was about to attack me. She looked at me.

"He's a good kitty, he won't hurt you", she assured me.

"Dampir's and animals don't get along to well", I said dryly. She just shrugged before plopping the wretched ball of fur into my lap. I flinched, waiting for it to claw my eyes out, but he just snuggled into me and closed his eyes. I decided to try my luck and pet him, and to my astonishment, he started purring.

"So are those two idiots still staring at each other like deer caught in the headlights?" She asked. I laughed.

"Last I checked", I replied. She just smiled and shook her head.

"What's your cat's name?" I asked.

"Leo", Pandora said, "I found the poor guy curled up on the front stairs of the building one morning. Probably trying to get out of the rain. He was soaked and shivering so badly, I didn't know if he would make it." I just nodded my head in response.

"So, I hear that you and Dimitri used to date", I said to her. She just laughed.

"If you're worried about me being jealous or something, you're wasting your time. I'm glad he's finally found someone that's finally knocked some sense into him. Besides, we wouldn't have worked out, which I'm glad for. He's nothing but a pain in the ass."

"I could say the same for you", said a new voice. I looked up to Dimitri standing in the door way, next to Ivan, who was leaning against it casually. Pandora grabbed a book from her bedside table and threw it at his head. Dimitri ducked out of the way, unlike Ivan, who let out a yelp as the book came into contact with his jaw. Leo stirred in my lap at the commotion but never made an effort to open his eyes.

"What do you want", she snapped, her previous good mood vanishing.

"He's making me come and talk to you", said Ivan, eyeing Pandora as if he was waiting for her to lunge at him. Pandora just huffed in response, crossing her arms in defiance.

"Roza, we should be heading back to court anyways", said Dimitri. I looked down at Leo and stroked his back before picking him up and handing him to Pandora, then standing and heading for the door.

"What, no, you can't leave!" cried Ivan, who wasclearly beginning to panic. Dimitri sighed before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and leading me to the front door.

"No! She'll kill me or something, you can't leave me here with this crazy bitch!" Ivan then yelped as he was hit with yet another book. I looked at Dimitri, who just sighed in response before looking at me and then Ivan.

"Ivan, it's great to see you, but I need a day or two to process everything, you'll be fine", he told Ivan calmly.

"No! Please, you can stay in my room, I won't bother you, I promise", he pleaded.

"Nobody wants to stay in your room you idiot", said Pandora, who had proceded to come out of her room, leaning against the doorway. Ivan turned and narrowed his eyes at her.

"And why not?" he asked

"Because it's disgusting in there. You have dirty dishes from six months ago on the floor", she responded.

"Well you know, not everyone can be as perfect as you", Ivan said sarcastically. Pandora just proceded to flip him off.

"Goodbye Ivan", said Dimitri, before opening the door and heading out, I followed closely behind.

"If you want to stay you can, I don't mind", I said to him once the door was shut. He sighed and looked at me.

"Honestly, I don't think I'm ready to deal with the two of them. Not to mention that I'm still getting used to the idea of my best friend being alive", he trailed off. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Whatever happens, I'll be right next to you the whole time", I said softly.

"I love you", he whispered.

"I love you too. More than you'll ever know."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, so here's chapter 4. Just so you guys know, there is a lemon at the end, but it's really not necessary to read, I've marked it so if you want you can skip it. Just felt like doing a bit of Ivan/Pandora lovin', plus it give a bit of a look into their relationship, since it definitely isn't traditional.**

 **EnjoY!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

When Rose and Dimitri left, Ivan and I just stood where we were, neither of us making an attempt to say anything. I turned around and headed back to my room.

"Where are you going?" Asked Ivan

"To Canada. Where the hell do you think I'm going you idiot?" I swear, he couldn't get any stupider.

"Dimitri said we need to talk." He said as I was about to slam the door.

"You want to talk? Okay, fine. Lets talk." I said before stalking ober to the living room and plopping down onto the couch, disgusted at the smell of beer and Doritos. Ivan sat down on the other side of the couch, as far away as possible. This just made me roll my eyes.

"So you're serious then? I'm going to be a dad?" He asked me, looking at the wall.

"No." I responded. His head snapped over to look at me.

"Oh, thank god", he said relieved before laughing.

"When you said you were pregnant and I was the father I just about died. Not gonna lie, you freaked me out for a minute", he said, leaning back into the couch.

"No, I am pregnant", I said.

"But you just said-"

"I said you aren't going to be a dad, and I'm not going to be a mom. I'm not having this baby, I can't do that", I said. Ivan's face turned into pure rage.

"So what, you're just going to kill it? I knew you could be unsympathetic but I never thought you could be that cruel. I guess everyone in high school was right, you don't give a damn about anyone but yourself", he shouted. I shot up from my seat.

"I'm doing this because I'm not going to bring a kid into the world if it's just going to end up being stuck in a crappy apartment with a mom who's going to school full time, a dad who just sits around and plays Xbox all day and drinks with his friends. I won't do that. I can't afford to send the kid to school and I can't afford to raise a baby! So don't you _ever_ tell me that I don't give a damn about anyone else, because that's not true." I shouted at him, my temper rising.

"Then drop out of school, I'll get a job or something and we can go live with your mom and Ashley, they'd help us", he said.

"No, I'm not going to just drop out of school. I have one more year left and I'm going to finish it. Plus, we can't go to my mom, she can barely take care of herself, what makes you think she's able to help me? It's a mystery as to how she manages to take care of Lucy!" I shouted.

"I can't do this", my voice cracked, and I could feel myself about to break down. _Stupid stupid tear ducts and stupid stupid emotions_ , I[JR1] mentally cursed. Ivan's face softened and he came over and wrapped his arms around me. I went limp in his arms and that's when the tears began to fall. I didn't want this, I just wanted to live a normal life. I wanted to be made of stone. Then nothing could break me.

"We'll figure things out, okay? And besides, you love Lucy to death, if you take care of the baby as well as you do Lucy, the kid will turn out just fine, I promise", he whispered, tilting my chin up softly.

"Yeah, or it'll end up as a complete failure", I muttered.

"Why would you say that?"

"Have you seen my family? My mom's an addict, my dads an alchemist, my sister is a bitch and my brother is dead", I said dryly

"Yeah, but Lucy is smart and caring and the sweetest kid you'll ever meet", he said.

"Yeah, I guess", I sighed before wrapping my arms around him. He leaned in to kiss me, stopping before his lips touched mine.

"Why'd you stop?" I asked.

"Just wanted to make sure you won't light my ass on fire", he gave me a crooked smile. I laughed.

"Not tonight, I promise. Maybe tomorrow", I said smiling before pressing my lips to his. H

 *****************M-Rates Scene Starts Here***************************************

He wrapped his arms around me and sat down on the couch, pulling me onto his lap so I was straddling him. Soon, the soft kisses began to become heated and rough, his teeth nipping at my bottom lip. I gasped, and he used it as a way to plunge his tongue into my mouth. I fisted his pale blonde hair and ground my hips into his, causing him to groan. His hands slid up my shirt to cup my breasts over my bra as he began kneading them. I pulled his shirt over his head before running my hands down his chest and started to undo his jeans. He gasped as my hands dipped into his pants and grabbed his erection through his boxers.

"My room or yours?", He asked between breaths.

"Yours, Leo's sleeping", I said before latching my lips back onto his. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. When we arrived at his room, he slammed the door closed before pinning my body .the bed. Ivan ran his hands down my chest before taking a nipple into his mouth, suckling and nipping softly at it, causing me to moan. He kneaded the other one between his fingers before removing his mouth and lowering his head. He rubbed my center over the fabric of my jeans making me whimper with pleasure. This man may drive me crazy but damn, he knew what he was doing.

Ivan's fingers deftly unbuttoned my jeans before sliding them off. Leaving me just in my turtle printed panties. He stood up and removed his jeans and boxers, allowing his erection to spring free before climbing back on top of me and latching his lips to mine. He rolled over and pulled me on top of him and hooked his fingers into the side of my panties and pulling them down slowly, making me growl.

"Just fuck me already you stupid bastard", I tried to say it strongly, but my voice came out breathlessly. He just chuckled at me before lifting me up, aligning my center with his member. His hands stayed on my hips, waiting for me to make the move. I lowered down onto him and moaned when he filled me. I started moving my hips up and down, Ivan keeping his hands on my hips. When I started to go faster, he rolled over on top of me and began thrusting harder. I gasped when he wrapped my legs around his waist, making him go further into me. His movements became erratic and I could feel something in my belly tightening before breaking, causing my eyes to roll into the back of my head in pleasure, soon after, he filled me with white-hot cum and collapsed on top of me, panting.

 *********************END OF M-SCENE****************************************

We lay there for a bit, neither of us saying a word before he pulled out of me and rolled over onto his back. I sat up to go back to my room to sleep, but he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Stay", he murmured. I sighed before leaning back against his chest and let the darkness take me, my last coherent thought being _we can do this_.

 **So? What do you all think? Oh! And someone had a question about whether Pandora was a witch, yes, she is, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. Next chapter, everyone's getting together for a reunion! Remember to Rate and Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey everyone, here's chapter five. Bad news, my word document got canceled, so I may be updating slower that usual (it's already pretty slow), until I figure out how to work the damn thing. ALSO, just in case you haven't read bloodlines, (ore you've forgotten), it IS possible for Rose and Dimitri to have babies because Dimitri was turned back into a dhampir after being a strigoi (major big reveal in Ruby circlet), but they decided not to because they didn't want anyone to try and make their kid a science experiment (since, ya know, it's impossible for two dhampirs to reproduce), so yeah, there you have it.**_ _**Enjoy!**_ _**Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**_ __Chapter 5

Rose POV

It had been nearly six months since we had last seen Pandora and Ivan, last we had heard was that the two of them had gone to Russia to stay with Pandora's grandmother, who would help them with the baby. Ivan and Dimitri talked occasionally, but he said that he still was trying to process things. Although it was clear that really, he was just upset that nobody had told him his best friend was alive. He had been acting strange ever since the night we ran into Pandora at the bar, and had been taking on more shifts that usual, and was even more quiet than he normaly was. Everyone knew that something as going on, but they didn't know what. He had decided that he didn't want to tell anyone until he was ready. At the rate he was going though, it would be never.

I was walking back from a royal court meeting that I had to attend with Lissa, and was tired and anxious to see Dimitri. Lissa had forced him to take a few days off, which had made him irritable.

I walked through the front door and the sight before me was the last thing I had expected. Dimitri was holding a baby that couldn't have been more than a few weeks old and was laughing at something that Ivan had said, who was sitting right next to him. Pandora was on the floor, and appeared to be asleep.

"Didn't know we were expecting company", I said. Dimitri looked up and smiled at me before handing the baby to Ivan and walking over to me and kissing me on the forehead.

"How was the meeting?", he asked.

"Ugh, don't even get me started. It was terrible", I sighed. I loved being Lissa's guardian, but I did not like the meetings. Not one bit.

"Hey Rose", said Ivan, who had stood up to give me an awkward hug since he was holding a baby in one arm.

"Hey, how's parenthood treating you?" I asked.

"It's a nightmare. I have no idea why anyone would want to have a baby", he groaned. I laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know, you hate being a dad. At least you didn't have to carry the damn thing around for nine months", said Pandora, who was apparently not asleep and sitting up. "Give me my baby", she said, holding her arms out.

"What? No, you always get to hold her", he responded.

"It's a baby you idiot, not a toy", she said rolling her eyes. Ivan grumbled before handing the baby over.

"So it's a girl huh?" I said.

"Yeah, her names Dawn", said Pandora, who was smiling down at her daughter. I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as I watched her hold the one thing I could never have with Dimitri. I knew he wanted a baby, and so did I. But we had made a decision, and that was that.

"She's beautiful", I said smiling at the sight.

"Yeah, she is", said Pandora, who hadn't taken her eyes off of Dawn. She looked up at me before asking if I wanted to hold her, I of course, was terrified that I was going to drop her.

"Please, if Ivan can do it, then so can you", she said rolling her eyes and standing up to hand me the baby.

"She's so little", I whispered.

"Yeah, she's probably going to be getting her size from her mom", Ivan teased. Pandora just glared in response.

"What? I'm just saying, you're what? A hundred pounds? And you're only like, 5'6"", stated Ivan, who got a shoe thrown at him in response.

"Hey Ivan?" asked Dimitri.

"Hm?"

"Shut up", he said, giving Ivan a stern look.

"What? It's true. Besides, I happen to like you just the way you are", he said, grinning at Pandora, who glared in response.

"Why am I marrying you again?", she asked nobody in particular. This caused Dimitri's head to shoot up and his eyes to widen.

"You guys are getting married?" he looked at them skeptically.

"Yeah, weird isn't it? We have nothing in common. I would have expected you to marry her before I did", he stated. My head whipped to the side towards Dimitri.

"Ivan, shut up", said Dimitri.

"What, I'm just saying? You two have a lot in common", he said as if it was obvious.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" said Pandora, who was crossing her arms. I just continued to stand there awkwardly holding the baby.

"You guys are both nerds, you both like to read, you run, you listen to horrible music, you like making fun of me, you both smoke, need I go on?", he asked. I raised an eyebrow at him (or rather, attempted to).

"You smoke?" I looked at him disbelieving. I had never seen him so much as look at a cigarette. Dimitri opened his mouth to respond but Ivan interrupted him.

"Oh yeah, are you kidding me? They used to ditch trig and go out behind the church and smoke. It's amazing that you guys never got caught. Especially after they found the joints in Pandora's dorm. That was great", he said, smiling at the memory.

"You smoked pot?" I said, he was crazy when it came to following the rules, I couldn't ever imagine him smoking.

"Yeah, we did it all the time. That, sex, and alcohol basically made up the majority of our high school careers", she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't smoke anymore. I haven't since, well you know…", he trailed off. But I understood what he meant, since Ivan had died. Or at least he thought Ivan died.

"Man, you don't know what you're missing out on", said Ivan wistfully.

"Yeah, the worst part about being pregnant is the fact that you cant drink or smoke, I mean, who comes up with these rules? If I want to get drunk while I'm pregnant then why should the government stand in my way?" said Pandora.

"It's not a rule, it's a recommendation. Drinking and smoking is bad for the baby", said Dimitri looking at her like she was crazy.

"Please, that's just what the government want's you to think. My mom smoked and drank while she was pregnant with me, and look how I turned out", she stopped to think about what she had said for a moment. "Okay, I got your point", she finally said.

"Yeah, you turned out to be a psychopath", snorted Ivan. She shot her middle finger in his direction. Dawn had fallen asleep in my arms, but she was beginning to wake up and squirm.

"Um, I'm going to give you you're baby back", I said, afraid I would drop her.

"Oh, shit, I was supposed to feed her fifteen minutes ago", Pandora said looking at her watch. She grabbed the baby from me and asked if I could show her somewhere she could go to feed Dawn, preferably away from the 'idiot's' as she liked to say. I took her to the bedroom and she sat sown before lifting up her shirt and lifting up her sports bra so that the baby could feed. Dawn latched onto her nipple and began suckling and I watched in amazement. I knew I should look away, but I couldn't. For the second time today, jealousy surged through me as I watched the mother and her baby. I wanted a baby, and I wanted one with Dimitri. So much.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Here's chapter six! Hope you enjoy! Also, what'd you all think about Dimitri being a stoner? Don't ask why, but once that idea came into my mind, it wouldn't leave. Also, another m scene (RxD this time), but it is marked and towards the end of the chapter OH! And thank you very much to everyone who reviewed. And to guest: that's the plan! Not sure when it's going to happen but it definitely will! And to other guest: Yeah, sorry I forgot top put spoiler alert. My bad!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

Chapter 6

Rose POV

"Dimitri, we need to talk", I said to him, making up my mind. Pandora and Ivan had left about an hour ago, saying that they had to get home. Dimitri put down the book he was reading and looked up at me.

"Of course, Roza, what do you want to talk about?" he asked. I took a deep breath and sat down next to him on the couch. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and looked at me expectantly.

"I want to have a baby", I blurted out. His eyes widened and he sighed.

"We talked about this, I want to have a baby too, but we can't, it's not safe", he said calmly.

"We both want to have children so why don't we? I know it's risky but everything will be fine. We can say that it was a sperm donor or something", I pleaded.

"Rose, would you be willing to give up you're career as Lissa's guardian? Because that's what you would need to do", he said to me.

"Why would I have to do that? I'll go on maternity leave or something and I'll take time off while I'm pregnant."

"No, if we had a baby, then we would both have to stop. What if something happens to one of us? It's not fair for a child to grow up without a mother or father. And that's a lot of pressure as a single parent", he reasoned.

"Nothing's going to happen", I replied. "We'll be fine."

"You don't know that", he said softly. "Being a guardian is dangerous and anything could happen. It's too risky."

"So what? You're making me choose between being Lissa's guardian and having kids? That's not fair", I snapped.

"Rose, I'm just trying to be realistic", he said calmly, I took a deep breath before resting my head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head before speaking.

"How about we get married first, then we'll discuss children, okay?" he reasoned. I smiled at him before pecking him on the lips.

"Okay."

"May I ask where this is coming from?" he questioned. I sighed.

"Seeing Ivan and Pandora with Dawn, it just made me want to put all the consequences aside and have a baby. I know you want to have a big family, and it's not fair for you to have to put that aside", I told him.

"First of all, Ivan and Pandora are the last people who should be influencing anyone to have a baby. He's not responsible and she's crazy. Right now, I have all the family I need, and I love you and them more than anything", he said smiling.

"Even more than you love you're westerns?" I joked.

"Absolutley", he said before kissing me softly.

 ***********************M-Scene starts here**********************************

Our kisses become more frantic and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He stood up and lifted me in his arms effortlessly, not once breaking the kiss. He walked us to the bedroom and kicked the door shut before tossing me onto the bed. His body soon covered my own and his lips smothered mine. His tongue outlined the seam of my lips asking for entrance, and I granted him it. My hands fisted in his hair and his ran up and down my sides before resting on my waist. He moved his hands under my shirt and slowly trailed his hands up my sides before lifting my shirt over my head. He played with my breasts over my bra before standing up to remove his own shirt then coming back on top of me.

I smiled before flipping us over so I was straddling him. I ran my hands down his muscular chest, loving how the muscles rippled under my touch. My fingers dipped down between the waist line of his pants, causing him to growl.

"It's not nice to tease, Roza", his voice made me shudder. I smirked at him before lowering his jeans and boxers, grabbing his erection in my hand. He hissed as my skin made contact with his, and I began stroking him, slow at first, but then faster.

"Rose, I'm going to-", he was cut off when I wrapped my mouth around his member, causing him to groan in pleasure. It wasn't long before he came undone in my mouth, growling my name. When I had swallowed it, I went back up to kiss him.

"Well Ms. Hathaway, I think it's time to return the favor", he said, his accent more pronounced.

"I think you're right Mr. Belikov", I responded, giving him a sexy smile. He wrapped his arms around me and unhooked my bra, then proceeded to remove my pants. I gasped as he lowered his head and wrapped his mouth around my nipple, swirling his tongue around it before releasing it with a small pop. His head lowered and he kissed his way downward, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. When he reached my panties, he hooked his fingers around the sides before removing them in one swift movement. His long fingers stroked my wet folds, making me whimper with desire. His thumb started rubbing my clit, moving faster and faster. I moaned as I felt one of his digits enter me, pumping in and out. Wriggling under his touch, I cried out as he replaced his fingers with his mouth, his tongue swirling around my clit. It wasn't long before I was crying out his name as I experienced my release.

 ****************End of M-Scene***********************************************

He moved back up and kissed me softly before whispering to me in Russian. Before I knew it, I was about to go into a deep slumber, mumbling loving words to him before the land of dreams consumed me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Pandora POV**

I looked around at the bare apartment, everything was packed up into cardboard boxes. I shoul feel relieved, I'd always hated this place. The color, the location, the neighbors, everything about it. I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness though. This was the one place that I had ever really called home. I had always been moving from place to place when I was living with my dad, and even though I stayed at St. Basils most of my high school career, it sure as hell wasn't home. It was more like a prison. I had Dawn's car seat in one hand, she was sleeping soundly for the first time in days.

"Ivan, grab Leo for me will you?", I asked him.

"Why can't you do it?" He asked.

"Because you idiot, I'm carrying a baby"

"It's your cat", he retorted. "I'll take Dawn", he said reaching for the car seat. I smacked his hand away.

"No, you'll probably drop her or something", I was loosing my patience quickly.

"You guys ready yet?", Rose entered the apartment and looked around. "It seems bigger than before", she mused. She and Dimitri were helping us move to court.

"Probably because it's empty", I responded. She just shrugged her shoulders.

"Here, take her, I've got to grab Leo", I said, handing her the car seat without waiting for her response. I walked over and grabbed the crate, kicking Ivan in the shin on the way over. Leo was about full grown at this point, and was trying desperately to claw his way out of the plastic enclosure.

"Don't worry, we'll be there soon", I murmured down towards him. He meowed in response, as if he knew what I was saying.

"Come on, let's go", I said, walking out the door, forcing myself not to look back.

By the time we got to court and had moved all of the boxes in, it was nearly dark out.

"I can't believe they kicked us out", groaned Ivan, referring to the manager of the building. We were behind on paying rent and the other residents had been complaining about us making too much noise, and not the good kind.

"Maybe this wouldn't happen, if you would get off your ass and do something for once in your life", I snapped at him.

"I've been trying to find a job", he exclaimed. Dimitri raised an eyebrow at this and looked at him.

"Why do I find that hard to believe", he said dryly.

"Because he's spoiled and hasn't worked for anything in his life", I answered. Rose and Dimitri had helped us move all of the boxes into the house, and now we were just hanging out.

"Well maybe this wouldn't have happened if you could keep a job for more than three months", Ivan said accusingly, referring to the fact that I had been fired because I was "harassing" the customers.

"What am I supposed to do? Just let some random guy grab my ass every time I walk by?" I shouted.

"You don't even have an ass to grab", Ivan mumbled. I lunged at him and wrapped my hands around his throat, but was quickly pulled off by Dimitri.

"Quit it, both of you", he said in a harsh tone.

"So, what made you guys move here? From what I understand neither of you are a big fan of the royal court", asked Rose, trying to change the subject. I huffed before responding.

"This is actually Ashley's place, she doesn't use it much anymore so she offered to let us stay here for a while as long as we keep it clean and don't burn it down", I responded.

"Whose Ashley?" She asked, looking confused.

"Oh, Ashley's my mom's fiancée", I answered.

"They're finally getting married?" asked Dimitri.

"Yeah, now that it's legal in all fifty states, they can move to Indiana, where they've been wanting to go for a while now", I answered, "they want to get out of Russia, they say it's too cold, plus it's near my dad and my sister and that right there is a reason for anyone to leave", I responded bitterly. Dimitri just nodded his head.

"I take it you don't get along with you dad's family then?" said Rose, it was more of a statement than it was a question. I gave a harsh laugh.

"Are you kidding? How could _anyone_ stand the two of them? They're only goal in life is to destroy the lives of everyone around them", I responded.

"Well, that was a good talk, now what's for dinner?", asked Ivan.

"Oh, um, actually, Lissa has invited you guys over to eat if you want, she's been dying to meet you two", Rose said. I groaned in response when Ivan eagerly said yes.

"Okay, come on, let's go. I'm going to die of hunger", stated Ivan. I looked at him.

"The average human can last roughly thirty days without food as long as they have access to water", I told him.

"Well, I'm not a human, I am a full grown moroi man and I need food", he said.

"Then start acting like it", I grumbled. He glared at me in response.

"Come on, Christian's making lasagna", said Rose. That right there was enough to get me over there.

"Okay, let's go", I stated, grabbing Dawn, who was fast asleep in her car seat, and heading out the door. Dimitri just smiled and shook his head before wrapping his arms around Rose and following after Ivan and I.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! This is another fluff chapter, but oh well. It's almost time for Christian's lasagna! I already made this chapter really long so I figured I'd make it a two parter. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead.**

 **Chapter 8**

 **Pandora POV**

"Okay, so which way is it?" Ivan asked, looking at Rose.

"Just follow me, Ill show you", she replied, rounding the corner of a building. It appeared to be a shopping center of some sort. Restraunts and café's lined one side of the street, boutiques and other shops lined the other. Street lights brightly shown down, illuminating the streets. Up ahead, loud music could be heard, probably from some kind of club or bar. We walked down a bit further when we heard a loud group of moroi talking and laughing. Ignoring them, we walked past and eventually made it to a large house, (more like mansion), and passed through the gates. Guards were positioned on either side, obviously there to make sure that no unwanted guests got past the gates.

We walked passed and the guards nodded at Rose and Dimitri. Ivan and I followed closely behind. I glared at the stone-faced guardians for no particular reason. By the time we reached the massive front doors, I was ready to turn around and bolt. _I don't belong here, I should be back at the apartment, reading or doing something. Anything but this._ My palms began to sweat in anticipation of the horror that was undoubtedly about to come. _They'll mock me and call me a feeder and say terrible stuff and I'll just have to act like it doesn't bother me. Maybe I should leave. I can say that I don't feel well or something. Yeah, that sounds good._ I open my mouth to speak when I notice that it's too late. The queen has her arm wrapped around rose, in a friendly hug. Rose gestures over to Ivan and I, and the queen comes over, a bounce in her step, and her belly swollen.

"Hi, how are you?" She asks me as if we've known each other for ages. "Oh! You had your baby! She's adorable! What's her name?" she asks merrily.

"Liss, how about we go to your place? I'm hungry", says Rose. The queen just nods her head, and motions for us to follow her. Ivan and I look at each other, and he just shrugs his shoulders before following her. Dimitri looks at me. "You okay?", he asks, looking concerned. I just glare at him for no reason before stalking after the group.

We're led down a series of hall ways before finally coming to a stop. The queen opens the door and motions for us to come inside.

"Sydney and Declan are already here, Adrian's coming soon", she tells us. I just nod my head in response, having no idea who they would be.

I walk inside and the first thing I notice is a bookshelf full of photos. Lots and lots of photos. No books, absolutely none. Which is a real shame because why have a bookshelf without books? The room is white, white walls, white carpet, everything. The furniture is sleek and black. A large uncomfortable looking couch made of black leather and these ugly-as-hell chairs. Then there's a bookshelf of photos, and the pictures are the only thing colorful in the room. In the middle of the wall is a large stone fireplace, the kind that you have to click a button and it's lit. Which is totally cheating by the way. I jump when I feel a small tug on my pants-leg. I look down and there's a kid in overalls and a red shirt underneath, a mop of curly brown hair on top of his head, and these huge hazel eyes. I kneel down and look at him.

"Hey, what can I do for you?", I ask him.

"Can I see your baby?" he asks in an adorable little toddler voice.  
"Declan", I heard a woman say in a stern voice. I looked up to see a petite blonde with a golden lily tattoo on her cheek.

"It's fine, he can see her", I say to her, weary of her. I don't like alchemists, never have. They're cruel and prejidous, and can never seem to accept any opinion but their own. I would know, I grew up with them. She smiled at me, which I found strange. Dawn was looking around, her bright blue eyes surveying the room. She had her daddy's eyes, and my reddish-brown hair. I put her car seat on the floor, and unstrapped her. I picked up her little body, and went over to the chair to sit down so the boy could see her.  
"Hi baby", he cooed.

"Her name is Dawn", I told him. The kid looked up at me.

"You sound funny", he said. It wasn't an insult, he was just saying what he thought, just like every little kid did.

"Declan, that's not nice, say you're sorry", the woman scolded. The boy bowed his head down and mumbled an apology.

"It's fine, people tell me that a lot", I smiled at him.

"Yo! Dinner's gonna get cold", Ivan said, poking his head out of what I assume would be the kitchen. I nodded my head and got up, walking into the kitchen. The smell of Italian food hit me in the face as soon as I walked it. It smelled great.

"Okay, so since we don't know you guys, lets sit down at the table and then you can introduce yourselves", said the queen.

"Will do you're highness", Ivan said bowing. I rolled my eyes. The woman narrowed her eyes at him.

"Just call me Lissa", she said to him coolly.

"Okay, sounds good", he said, before asking where we should sit.

"Wherever you would like is fine", she answered.

"Do you need any help?" asked Dimitri, always the polite one. But who would expect anything less from Olena's only son?

"If you want to help grab the plates and bring them in that'd be great", said Lissa with a smile, walking back into the kitchen. I grabbed Dawn's bottle that had some of her baby milk in it and used my hand to heat it up. It's a simple spell really, the trick is to heat it up just enough to make it warm, but not melt the bottle. Molten plastic hurts like a bitch. My hand glowed lightly, and I tested it to make sure it wasn't too hot. Sydney was watching me with wide eyes.

"Can I help you?", I asked slightly annoyed. I didn't hate her, I just hated alchemists in general.

"Did you just use magic?", she asked quizzically. I expected to hear her voice waiver or for her to run away in fear. Whenever the word "magic" or "witch", came up, my dad and sister (both devoted alchemists), would freak, apparently it wasn't very popular amongst their community of ass holes.

"Yeah, why?", I asked, holding the bottle upright and beginning to feed Dawn.

"I've just never met anyone else so young who could use magic, she said. That made me look up.

"You're not going to run for the hills or shove a bible in my face, yelling about how unnatural and evil it is?", I asked wearily.

"No, I use magic too, I mean, I'm not too good at it, I have a lot of practicing to do until I can perfect it, but-"

"Nonsense Sage, you're amazing", said a moroi man who had just walked into the dining room. His hair was a bronze color and his eyes were emerald green. He looked like an Ivashkov, they all had the signature green eyes and strong jaw. Sydney looked up and smiled.

"Adrian, what took you so long?", she stood up and kissed him on the cheek, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. My eyes widened as I realized who she was.

"You're Sydney Sage!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's me. Mind if I ask how you know who I am?" She asked me.

"Oh, yeah, Last year when my dad's family, with the exception of my brother, Michael, got together for Easter dinner all my sister could do was bitch about how an ex-alchemist had ruined her career. A girl named Sydney Sage had fallen in love with a Moroi, was sent to re-education, then used magic to sneak around and eventually broke out with the help of a few people, yada yada yada", I said quickly my excitement bubbling to the surface.

"Wait, you had dinner with your family?" Ivan asked, I had honestly forgotten he was there. He's almost never quiet. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Yes, my grandma always makes us get together for Easter dinner. I'm not sure why she does it though, it always ends up with all of us yelling at each other, and someone usually throws something, it's a nightmare", I answered, shaking my head. Ivan just shrugged his shoulders.

"Whose you're sister?", asked Sydney, looking worried.

"Sheridan Harris", I answered, and after seeing the look on Sydney's face, I really with I hadn't.

 **Okay, not sure if you all can see the highlighting, but if not, then lucky you, if so, I'm sorry, I can't figure out how to un-highlight it! Anyways, who remembers who Sheridan is (from Bloodlines)? Hope you all enjoy and I shall update when I get a chance. Please rate and review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, sorry for the late update, school's been crazy! Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, Finally Christian's lasagna makes an appearance! Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

 **Ch. 8**

 _"Whose you're sister?", asked Sydney, looking worried._

 _"Sheridan_ _Harris", I answered, and after seeing the look on Sydney's face, I really with I hadn't._

 **Rose POV**

"So who are your friends?", asked Lissa, rubbing a hand over her swollen belly. She was four months pregnant and certainly excited. The number of times she had dragged me to the mall was unbelievable. And no matter how many times I told her that I was there to guard her, not be her shopping buddy, she always managed to pull me in. The more we went the more I craved to have a baby with Dimitri.

"Not mine, Dimitri's", I answered. Upon hearing his name, Dimitri looked over, he was taking muffins out of the oven. Lissa nodded her head in understanding. Just then we heard yelling coming from the dining room, and I went to see what was going on.

"No need, it's Ivan and Pandora getting into a fight for some ridiculous reason", Dimitri said, not even looking over to check what was going on.

"How is Dawn not crying?", I asked myself aloud. I would think that most babies would be screaming if they were witnessing that kind of commotion. Dimitri just shrugged in response.

"She's probably used to it. Those two are constantly bickering", he replied.

"So just to be clear, your friends are Ivan and Pandora, and Dawn is Pandora's baby?", questioned Lissa.

"Yes, but Dawn is Ivan and Pandora's daughter", said Dimitri, who had placed the muffins on top of the stove to cool. He was now leaning against the counter. His arms folded over his chest. He was wearing a black tee-shirt, which outlined his muscles. I pictured him laying down, his shirt long gone, and myself running my hands over his perfectly sculpted chest, loving how the muscles rippled under my touch. I looked down in embarrassment when I realized that I had been caught staring.

Christian, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke up.

"If you're going to think about inappropriate things, do it when I'm not around", he said with his signature smirk, before turning back around to dish out the lasagna.

"I was not thinking about inappropriate stuff", I defended.

"You were practically drooling", he retorted. I decided to ignore him, there was no way I was going to be able to get out of this.

"Is dinner almost ready?", I asked impatiently.

"Yes, go sit down and stop bugging me", he responded. I huffed before going into the dining room. Everyone was quiet, none of the previous yelling could be hear. Dawn was suckling her bottle, and Ivan and Pandora seemed to be having some kind of glaring match. Adrian was holding Declan, looking back and forth between the two curiously, and Sydney wasn't around.

"Hey little dhampir, long time no see", said Adrian as I sat down across from Ivan.

"We saw each other last week", I responded, he just shrugged in response. "Where'd Sydney go?" I asked.

"Mommy went to the potty", said Declan, his hazel eyes looking up at me. I nodded my head in response. Declan tugged on my sleeve, and I looked down at him.

"Did you see the baby? It's really small", he said.

"Yeah, I did", I responded smiling at him. "Can you tell me the baby's name?", I asked him.

"We already told you the baby's name is Dawn, how did you forget that in such a short time?" asked Pandora, looking at me with a slightly annoyed look on her face. I raised my hands in surrender.

"I was just seeing if he knew, no need to get all upset", I responded, Pandora just grumbled something under her breath.

"You're such a mean person, you know that?" Ivan said.

"So I've been told", she muttered.

"So", said Adrian, clearing his throat, "Do anything interesting today?" he asked me.

"Yeah, Dimitri and I helped the two of them move, they just got a place here in court", I responded, thankful that he had broken the awkward silence. Adrian nodded his head in response.

"Dinner is served", announced Christian, grinning as he carried in a pan of lasagna. Lissa followed with plates and last was Dimitri carrying a plate of muffins.

Soon after Lissa had passed out the plates, Sydney returned, and took a seat next to Adrian. Declan insisted on sitting in his own chair, and as soon as Dimitri had placed the muffins down, Declan reached out for one. Sydney gave him a stern look.

"Declan", she warned. He looked down before retrieving his hand.

"Sorry mommy", he said, she just smiled at him and told him that he could only have a muffin if he ate a good dinner.

"But I'm not hungry", he said, looking at her with wide pleading eyes.

"If you aren't hungry for dinner then I guess that means you're too full to have a muffin", Pandora said in a sweet voice, a voice that I had never heard her use. Declan's eyes widened and he immediately asked how much lasagna he had to eat until he could have his muffin. Dimitri looked at her in a strange way.

"What? As hard as it is to believe, I can actually be nice. You guys are forgetting that I do have a two year old sister and a twelve year old brother", she said before stabbing a piece of lasagna she had cut and bringing it to her mouth, eyeing it suspiciously before eating it. Ivan was already almost half way done when I had eaten three bites. . I looked at him incredulously. Lissa had been chatting away about how she was planning on decorating the baby's room,

"What? I have to get going soon", he responded. Pandora froze, her eyes narrowing at him.

"What could you possibly have to do?" She asked doubtfully.

"I have a hot date", he said smirking at her. Pandora glared at him in response. Dimitri looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to you two getting married.

"Oh, we just wanted to see how you'd react. We made a bet on it, I said that you'd be so shocked you'd barely say a word, and stupid over here said you'd get angry and break something", she responded. Lissa had stopped talking, and looked over.

"You guys aren't married?" she asked. Pandora just looked at her like she was crazy.

"Hell no, I'd marry that idiot", she said pointing her fork in Dimitri's direction "before I would this one", pointing at Ivan. I decided to ignore that.

"But you have a baby", she said.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know you were all for the 'no sex before marriage' crap", she replied sarcastically.

"Pandora, stop", said Dimitri sternly.

"No, if she has a problem then she's more than welcome to verbalize it, and I'm more than welcome to voice my opinion about it", she snapped. Everyone else stayed quiet.

"I'm not saying I'm against it, I'm say-", started Lissa before getting cut off.

"Really, then what seems problem your highness", she said bitterly.

"If you have a baby then wouldn't you want to get married for her sake? Shouldn't she have two parents who love each other and her?"

Pandora scoffed. "Clearly you've never met my parents. They hate each other, and would like nothing more than to see the other suffer" Lissa opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a ringing. Pandora looked at the caller ID on her phone, before standing up, saying that she had to take it. Everyone remained silent, the tension in the room unbearable. The only ones oblivious to the awkwardness that surrounded them was Declan, who was talking to his broccoli, and Dawn, who was asleep. After what seemed like hours, but in reality was only about two minutes, Pandora came back into the room, looking irritated.

"Everything okay?", asked Adrian.

"No", she snapped. "Rose, can you watch Dawn for a bit, I have to go somewhere, and Ivan here can barely take care of himself" she asked, sounding exhausted. Her body was tense and she was clearly having a hard time controlling her anger. I would know, I showed the exact same signs.

"Yeah" I said quietly, looking down at my food, my appetite lost.

"Thanks for dinner, it was pretty good", she said, looking at Christian, before walking out of the room. Lissa glaring at her the entire time. The front door slammed shut, and she was gone.

"I should probably get going too", said Ivan quietly, thanking Lissa and Christian for dinner, and leaving quietly.

"Well that went well", said Adrian.

 **So, how adorable is Declan! I can't remember the description in the book, so I made him have hazel eyes. I do remember him having brown hair though. Anyways, THE TENSION IS UNBELIEVABLE. Pandora and Lissa don't seem to be off to a good start. Next chapter, Ivan's hot date and whatever it is Pandora has set off to do. Please R &R!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Here's chapter ten! I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

 **Ch. 10**

 **Pandora POV**

It was cold out, and I was in a very bad mood. I stomped into the club, more than irritated at my current situation. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel bad about leaving Dawn with Rose and Dimitri. But then again, it was probably not a good idea to bring a newborn to a strip club. That and I'd rather that my boss didn't know about her existence. Don't get me wrong, I want to show my baby girl off to the world, I wasn't ashamed that I had a baby at twenty four out of wedlock, and I could really care less if people think that's wrong. But these are the kind of people who would use her as leverage against me, and were not the kind of people anyone should get involved with. In fact, my advice, stay away from these people. They're bad news.

I stomped through the club, the loud music deafening and the constant flash of lights blinding. I walked through to the back, where my boss's office resided. Of all the loan sharks out in the world, Lucas Reed was quite possibly the worst. My job? Collect the money and intimidate the people who don't pay. I hated my job, but the pay was decent and I was desperate. Babies cost a lot of money, especially hospital bills. I was still paying them off and Ivan couldn't help. I give him a hard time about not getting a job, but the truth is, I wouldn't want him to unless I knew he would be safe. I couldn't be there with him all the time, and I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him. He meant to much to me, and I wouldn't loose him again. I've already lost one best friend, I didn't want to loose another.

I walked through the door and slammed it shut, not even bothering to knock. Lucas looked up from his desk, and wordlessly handed me a list of names and locations. I snatched it up and stormed out, setting out to collect the debts.

 **Rose POV**

Dimitri and I were walking home, it was about eight at night vampire schedule. I held Dawn's car seat in one hand. Dimitri had been silent the whole time, clearly wondering what got Pandora so upset. I reached out and squeezed his hand, he looked at me and I game him a soft smile.

"Everything's going to be okay", I whispered.

"Hathaway", I heard someone yell. I sighed in annoyance as I saw Jesse Zeklos walking towards us, his hands in his pockets and a smug smile on his face.

"Looks like you finally got knocked up, gotta say, I thought it'd happen a lot sooner", he said tauntingly. Dimitri glared at him.

"I'm taking care of her for a friend", I said, my teeth clenched.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say", he replied.

"Is there a reason you're here, or do you just have nothing better to do", I said coolly.

"Just wanted to ask who your new feeder friend was, the red-head", he said, still smirking. Dimitri growled at him. Seeing his reaction only spurred Jesse on.

"She's cute, might pay her a visit", he said tauntingly. Dimitri stepped foreword, towering over him.

"You go anywhere near her, and you'll regret it", he said through clenched teeth. Jessie appeared to pale a bit, but that didn't stop him from opening his mouth.

"What are you going to do? You so much as touch me you're done", he smirked.

"Come on, let's go. It's not worth it", I said, grabbing his arm and steering him away.

"I hope she tastes as good as she looks", Jessie shouted before turning to walk away.

We finally reached our house, and Dimitri unlocked the door. Dawn had slept the whole walk, and had just begun to stir.

I set her car seat down, here big blue eyes now looking at her surroundings. I picked her up out of the car seat and held her close to me. Dimitri had sat down on the couch, taking a deep breath. I sat down next to him, Dawn in my arms. He put his arm around me and pulled me closer.

"Look at this face and tell me you don't want one", I said lightheartedly, referring to Dawn. He sighed.

"Roza, we talked about this, unless you're willing to give up being a guardian, then no", he said softly. I huffed, he wrapped his arm around me and kissed the top of my head before whispering to me in Russian.

I woke up to the sound of a light knock on the door. I hadn't even realized that I had fallen asleep. Dawn was no longer in my arms, and I looked around, panicked, before spotting her in her car seat, fast asleep. I smiled. Dimitri got up to answer the door, and I widened my eyes at the person who walked, or rather limped in. Pandora's left eye was swollen shut, a deep, bloody gash trailed from her right temple to her jaw. She winced with every step she took, clutching her ribs.

"You need to go to a hospital", stated Dimitri, he received a withering glare in response.

"No", she replied, sounding like a stubborn child.

"You look really bad, you should go to make sure you don't have any broken bones or a concussion", I said, her glare was now aimed at me.

"You can't make me", she said, her voice full of hate.

"You're acting like a child", scolded Dimitri, "Get up, we're going to the hospital", he said, his voice hard.

"I'm a big girl, I can decide whether or not I need to go to the hospital", she replied harshly. The continued to argue for a bit, and in the end, Pandora won by kicking Dimitri in the groin. We sat down, completely quiet, staying like that for a while before Dimitri broke the silence.

"What happened to you", whispered Dimitri, pain lacing his voice.

"Nothing, I'm fine", she growled. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"It doesn't look like nothing", he said dryly, she glared at him in response.

"What where you doing?" said Dimitri, his face stoic and his voice hard. She scoffed in response.

"What do you care, _you_ left", she replied accusingly. This was the first I had heard anything about why she seemed to despise him so much. Dimitri's eyes hardened.

"I'm sorry, okay?", he snapped. "I couldn't deal with Ivan's death, knowing if I had been there then maybe he would still have been alive. I could have acted like everything was fine, but I still would have been angry at myself, so I ran. Is that what you want to hear?" he roared. For a second, Pandora's expression seemed to soften, before returning to it's previous deathly glare. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Dawn's cries. She looked at the tiny baby and her expression softened. She stood up, clearly in pain, before bending, or rather attempting to bend, over to pick up Dawn in order to comfort her. She gasped in pain, her hands flying to clutch her ribs. I grabbed her shoulder, leading her back to the couch, setting her down. I lifted Dawn up and gently handed her over. Upon seeing her mother, Dawn's cries softened. I went to the kitchen to get an ice pack (or something similar) and a glass of water. It took me a while to finally come to a conclusion that there were no ice packs in the freezer, so I settled with a bag of frozen vegetables. I walked back into the room, water and vegetables in hand. Dimitri was sitting next to her, neither of them speaking. I handed her the make-shift ice pack and placed the water on the end table next to her. She thanked me softly, before placing the ice pack over her eye with one hand, holding dawn with the other. I started to leave, figuring that they'd want some time alone, to talk about… whatever.

"You can stay you know", Pandora said, not looking at me. Dawn was nestled snuggly in her arms, fast asleep.

We sat there in silence for a while, before she spoke.

"I was going around, doing my job, and I ran into Michael", she said. Upon hearing the name, Dimitri stiffened.

"It's still light out, how would he-", began Dimitri

"It was inside, I had to go into some crappy bar and he was there waiting. Like he know I'd come", she said, her voice not giving away any emotion.

"Anyways, long story short, we fought, I burnt him pretty bad, he beat the shit out of me, then I managed to run", she laughed humorlessly.

"Someone's always running", she said more to herself than anyone else.

"Oh, and he said he was looking for you, got a grudge against you after the whole strigoi thing", she added. His head snapped over to look at her.

"You know about that?", he asked, seeming slightly panicked. She rolled her eyes.

"Of course I know, guy gets restored to a dhampir after being a strigoi? Things like that tend to get around. Plus I talked to Olena every once in a while", she replied. He was silent, his fists clenched, clearly in anger about what he had done. _No,_ I thought, _what the strigoi had done. He wasn't himself, it was something else entirely._

"You know it's not your fault", Pandora said, looking at him. "It wasn't you who did all that, it was something else. You would never hurt anyone unless they really deserved it. You're a good person. An idiotic one, but a good one."

"Whose Michael?", I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"He's my brother", she said. "And he want's to make you suffer", she replied, her voice quiet.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, so I know it's not my best work, but I couldn't think of anything else to add. Oh! I finally got around to watching the VA movie, and here's what bugged me most: Not enough RXD time, they burn the dress ("I like your dress, lets burn it", yeah, okay, that makes total sense), and Dimitri wears boxer briefs (grrr). Here's what I did like: The person who played Natalie did an AMAZING job, I liked the person who they cast fro Mia, and I liked how there was some humor mixed into it. Anyways, for those of you who read my likes/dislikes of the movie, thank you, for those of you who did not, I don't blame you. ANYWAYS! Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

 **CH. 11**

 **Rose POV**

After we talked a bit more, Pandora left with Dawn, leaving Dimitri and I sitting silently on the couch. He had his arm wrapped around me, and I rested my head against his chest. We sat there in silence for a while before Dimitri spoke up.

"Michael was in Russia", he started, his voice sounding painful. He was referring to when he was a strigoi. He continued to explain that Michael was supposed to be there when I broke out, so Dimitri figured that either I killed him or he had fled. Eventually I went up to bed, Dimitri saying he would be up in a bit, he just had to read some reports. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sleep, my mind was racing and I tossed and turned. Eventually, Dimitri came up. He wrapped his arms around me and whispered to me in Russian, the sound of his heart beat lulling me to sleep.

 **Pandora POV**

By the time I got home, Ivan was already there, passed out on the couch. He had one arm draped over his eyes, blocking out any light, and the other hanging off the couch. I smiled, he looked so peaceful sleeping, and I couldn't bring my self to wake him. After changing Dawn's diaper and putting her into some pajamas, I figured I had better clean my cuts to help keep them from getting infected.

"What took you so long?", a voice asked. I closed my eyes and muttered a curse under my breath.

"I hung out with Rose for a bit, go back to sleep", I responded, unable to look at him. Ivan walked up behind me and put an arm on my shoulder, causing me to wince.

"Look at me", he commanded softly, I shook my head in response.

"I can't", I said, my voice coming out as a whisper.

"Yes you can" ,he replied, "please". I turned around, knowing he would find out eventually. He let out a gasp of surprise, before his face contorted into anger.

"What did you do?", he said harshly.

"Shut up, you'll wake up Dawn", I snapped as quietly as I could. He grabbed my arm and led me to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. It wasn't until I saw my reflection that I really processed just how much damage had been done.

"Take off your jacket", he commanded. I grumbled in response but removed it anyways. I took off my scarf, noticing how it was sticky with blood in some places. Ivan pointed to the counter and I jumped up on the edge to sit on it, wincing as I did. He opened the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of antiseptic and some cotton pads to clean it with.

"I can clean it myself you know", I said half-heartedly, knowing he wouldn't leave. He glared at me in response and soaked the cotton in the cleaner. The cut on my face was by far the worst, and he dabbed that first. I gasped in pain as the solution stung. Somehow, a bit of cleaning solution caused me more pain than when I had broken my wrist, or cracked my ribs a couple years back.

After that was all cleaned up, he told me to take my shirt off.

"Yeah, you just want to see some boobs", I said, my voice snarky. He glared at me in response again. I tried to lift my shirt over my head, but my ribs were screaming at me to stop. Ivan sighed before gently helping me get it off. My skin was badly bruised, and I knew it would feel worse in the morning.

"What did you do?", he whispered. I took a deep breath before answering.

"I ran into Michael", I said before jumping down from the top of the counter. His eyes widened and before he could say anything, I spoke.

"Thanks for your help, I'm going to head to bed", I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I kissed him softly. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back. When I pulled away, we just looked at each other for a while before I grabbed his hand and pulled him into my room. I didn't have to speak. He knew what I was saying. I didn't want to be alone right now. I put an oversized tee shirt on, before climbing into bed.

"Is that my shirt?", he asked, humor in his eyes. I blushed.

"It must have gotten mixed up with my laundry", I muttered.  
"If you say so", he said, not sounding convinced. I got under the covers and was followed by Ivan. I rested my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head and I fell into a deep sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Ch. 12**

 **Rose POV**

I woke to something smacking me in the face. I bolted upright and looked around for signs of danger, but found none. Instead, I found Pandora leaning against the door frame, her arms crossed over her chest.

"About time you woke up, come on", she said, walking over and pulling the cover off of me. It had been almost two weeks since she had come here all bloodied and bruised, and since then, she and I had gotten to know each other fairly well. I yelped and tried to grab the sheet back from her, as I was completely naked after last night with Dimitri. Pandora just rolled her grey eyes at me.

"Seriously, I don't give a shit, I've seen boobs before, it's nothing new", she said, turning away and opening the drawer to my dresser and throwing a pair of jeans and a tee shirt at me. She herself was wearing her own pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a white tank top under a black and red checkered flannel that looked far to big for her. The bruise on her eye had been reduced to an ugly yellow color, and the cut on her face had knitted back together, leaving an ugly pink line in it's place.

"Is that Ivan's shirt?", I asked, almost positive that I had seen him wearing the same flannel shirt just days ago. I could see her cheeks redden.

"No", she responded too quickly, which told me that I was spot on.

"And you say you don't like him", I teased her as I wrapped a sheet around me and got up to look for clothes that actually looked good.

"It's soft", she replied, her voice slightly raised. I just snorted in response.

"Where are we going anyways?", I asked her, "and how did you even get in, Dimitri usually locks the door when he leaves?", I asked.

"Christmas shopping, and he's downstairs smoking with Ivan", she responded, looking closely at a picture of Dimitri and I in Baia with his family. I just about fell over.

"He's smoking?", I asked doubtfully. She rolled her eyes in response.

"No, they're drowning their sorrows in a bottle of vodka", she responded, again, I gave her a doubtful look, which she caught on to.

"Okay, well, Ivan is and he convinced your fiancé to join him", she said before leaving the room, yelling back at me to hurry up. I got into the shower, not wanting to go out smelling terrible, which I'm sure I did. In a record-breaking twenty minutes, I was out of the shower, dressed, teeth brushed, and walking downstairs. I decided that it would have taken too long to dry my hair, so I just put it back into a pony tail. Ivan was sprawled out on the floor, and empty bottle of vodka next to him, and Dimitri was sitting on the couch reading his western and sipping coffee. Pandora was looking out the window. When Dimitri saw me he looked up and smiled.

"Morning Roza", he said "Merry Christmas", he got up to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"It's not Christmas yet", I replied.

"No, but it's Christmas eve", he responded, kissing me again.

"Seriously? You guys had all last night to have totally hot sex, save me the pain and do it some other time", Pandora said. Dimitri's head snapped over to her.

"How do you know what we did last night?", he asked, looking slightly panicked. My guess is he probably didn't want anyone to know just how hot it was.

"Rose was naked when I went up this morning, there was like, probably a whole box worth of used condoms in the trash can, and Rose is totally blushing right now", she replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, and by the way, next time you decide to tie her up, I suggest you don't do it so tight, Rose has red rings on her wrists", she said, before turning away to look back out the window. I could feel my face heat up even more, and saw Dimitri's doing the same.

"Hey, you know you like it when I tie you up, so stop giving them a hard time about it.", said Ivan to Pandora, speaking for the first time. He winked at her, and she opened her mouth to speak but was at a loss for words. Her face was beet red and her eyes wide. Dimitri just raised an eye brow and Ivan gave a flirty smile.

"Come on Rose, we should go", said Pandora, her voice higher than usual. She stalked out the door without even bothering to say goodbye to Ivan or Dimitri.

"Where are you two going?", asked Dimitri.

"Christmas shopping. I'll see you later, okay?", I kissed him really quickly before heading out the door.

"Bye Rose, I love you and I'll never forget you", Ivan yelled in a sing-song voice. I just rolled my eyes and shut the door behind me. Pandora was waiting a few yards away, her arms crossed.

"Where's Dawn at?", I asked her. She was pretty hesitant to leave her daughter with anyone, saying that the world was full of incompetent idiots.

"My mom and her fiancé are at court, they wanted some time with her alone". I gave her a questioning look, from what I had heard, she didn't trust her mom very much.

"Ashley will take good care of her, I trust her to not fuck it up", she answered as if I had asked aloud before walking in the direction of the shops that were located in court. I picked up my pace to keep up with her, the closer we got, the more tense she appeared to become. Neither of us said a word, and Pandora's eyes kept darting around, as if expecting something to jump out at her. I was about to ask what was wrong before it hit me, she was a human in a moroi court, and she wasn't there as a feeder. She was there as a mother and a friend. Sydney faced the same issues, being a human, the difference was that Sydney didn't like to come out unless she absolutely had to, she was scared, and I don't blame her. Whether it was of her former employers or the other vampires, I wasn't sure. I do know that it was smart of her to be weary, you can never know what people are going to do.

"Where are we going first?", I asked her. My Christmas shopping was pretty much done, I had gotten everything I needed, save for Lissa, my mom, and my dad.

"Coffee, I was up all night last night", she answered, heading to the Starbucks.

"So why are you shopping in court? You do know that I would have gone with you out of court if you had wanted to", I said.

"Because the vampire and the human world don't run on the same schedule, noon to me is midnight to you", she replied. "At least it was, I've been trying to get used to a nocturnal schedule". I just nodded my head in response.

After we got coffee, we hit up the stores and finished our shopping by 3:00 in the afternoon, vampire time. We went back to my and Dimitri's appartment, and the first thing I noticed was that both Ivan and Dimitri were flat out. Pandora went over to Ivan and kicked him in the side, causing him to wake with a yelp. This caused Dimitri to wake up, and he smiled when he saw me.

"Well, as fun as this was, I have to go", said Pandora.

"You smoking crack behind the police station again", asked Ivan.

"No, I have dinner with the family, then I'll go smoke crack behind the police station", she said, grabbing her shopping bags and leaving. I looked at Ivan and attempted to raise an eyebrow, failing of course.

"I'm kidding! She's not that stupid", he said defensively.

"Come the hell on you idiot!", she shouted at him.

"You're going with?", asked Dimitri skeptically.

"Yeah, Sam wanted me there. According to her, I'm her son-in-law, since you know, I'm Dawn's father and all", he replied.

"You guys should come with", added Pandora. I looked at Dimitri. We would be having Dinner with Lissa, but she had some fancy royal dinner thing to go to, and she insisted that I should spend my Christmas eve with Dimitri, not standing around listening to a group of stuck-up royals talk. Dimitri shrugged.

"I'm okay with it if you are", he said.

"Okay, but I have to get ready", I said, knowing that I looked less than presentable.

"No you don't, you're fine", replied Pandora, grabbing my wrist and dragging me out the door.

"Dimitri, can you grab the gifts for them?", I said, struggling against Pandora's iron-grip. He nodded in response, going to retrieve the gifts. Together, the four of us set out, following Pandora to go and meet her mom. I don't know why, but I had a bad feeling about this.


	13. Chapter 13

**Ch. 13**

 **Rose POV**

Walking down the street towards Ivan and Pandora's place was brutal. It was cold out, and not just the usual, put on a jacket and you'll be fine cold, it was the kind of cold that seeped through your clothes and into your bones. Off course Ivan and Dimitri didn't mind it, they grew up this kind of brutal weather. I wasn't so sure about Pandora though, she seemed to tolerate it well enough but the other two walked on like it was a mild day, her, not so much. After walking the short distance to their apartment, I just about yelled in relief when we entered the house and I was enveloped by warmth and the smell of cookies. I stomped my feet to get all of the snow off of my boots and started taking off the added layers. Pandora took everyone's coats and shoved them at Ivan, telling him to go put them somewhere. He just glared at her before doing what he was told. A huge smile broke out on Pandora's face when a small girl with platinum blonde hair wearing a bright pink tutu and a plastic tiara came running at her.

"Panda!", she screeched, before being picked up and swung around in a circle.

"Hey Lucy-Lu", she responded giving the girl a kiss on the forehead. She turned around to Dimitri and I.

"This is my little sister, Lucy", she said, smiling widely. "Can you say hi?", she asked the girl, who just buried her head in the crook of her sisters neck in response, clearly shying away from Dimitri and I. Pandora put the girl down, and the child looked curiously at Dimitri.

"I saw you in a picture once, Panda has it in her room. Uncle Ivy's in it too", she said, before she ran away. Dimitri just looked at me, kissed my forehead, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, leading me into the living room. A middle-aged dhampir woman with reddish-blonde hair and clear blue eye's was sitting on the couch, holding Dawn, who was dressed up in a Christmas onesie with a bow on top of her head.

"Dude, you're going to traumatize my baby stop dressing her up in stupid looking shit", said Pandora to a woman.

"Quit complaining and go help your mom in the kitchen", she said. Pandora held up her middle finger before walking into the kitchen.

The woman sighed and smiled at Dimitri before setting Dawn down in one of those rocking baby chair things, then giving Dimitri a hug.

"Hey hon, how've you been?", she asked, smiling up at him brightly. There was nothing suggestive in her tone, just the affection that one would give to their family.

"Good, thank you", he responded, a small smile on his face. She let him go and looked at me, smiling brightly.

"I'm Ashley, you must be Rose", she said, before giving me a hug, the action reminded me of Olena, how she had immediately welcomed me with open arms, quite literally. She let go and put her hands on my shoulders.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Olena and the girls have told me so much about you", she said warmly.

"Come on, sit down you two, you must be freezing", she said, "would either of you like something to drink? We have eggnog and apple cider if you'd like", she asked.

"Coffee would be great", Dimitri responded, sitting down and pulling me close to him.

"Eggnog please", I answered. Ashley nodded her head in response before heading into the kitchen.

"That's Ashley, she's Sam's fiancée, and you met Lucy, Kyle might be here, I'm not sure, he's Pandora's younger brother, he's around 15, Lucy's three or four", he explained.

"And I'm guessing Sam is Pandora's mom", I added. He nodded his head in confirmation. I snuggled up closer to Dimitri, reveling in the warmth of his body. We just sat there for a few seconds looking at each other, before someone cleared their throat.

"Here, we didn't have coffee so you'll have to settle for hot chocolate", she told Dimitri. She handed us our drinks before picking up Dawn, cooing at her baby.

"Panda!" Lucy ran out of the kitchen, holding a ginger bread cookie that had an explosion of icing and sprinkles on it.

"I made the baby a cookie", she said, holding it up for her to see.

"Thanks Lucy, but Dawn can't have a cookie, she's too little", replied Pandora. The little girls face fell until she saw Ivan coming down the stairs. She ran over to him.

"Uncle Ivy, I made you a cookie", she said, Ivan knelt down and took the cookie.

"Thank Lucy, it looks awesome", he said before taking a bite and choking.

"What the hell is in this", he asked, spitting it out.

"I made it with play dough", said Lucy, "you don't like it?", she looked up at him with big, sad eyes.

"No, it's great", he lied, smiling and telling her he would finish it after dinner. She ran away, saying she was going to make more. Dimitri raised and eyebrow at him, and Pandora smiled.

"Nice save there", she said, before sitting in the loveseat adjacent to us, cradling Dawn to her chest.

"Hey, so you think since it's Christmas you'll let me hold my daughter?", he asked, a cheeky grin on his face. She took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and nodded her head, as if it was the most painful thing in the world to do. Ivan's face lit up and he walked over and picked up the baby and cradled her to his chest, attempting, and failing to, imitate what Pandora had been doing. I watched them with interest, finding how they interacted together fascinating. She was criticizing him, telling him he had no idea what he was doing. Dawn was squirming in his arms and finally Pandora told him to sit down so he doesn't drop her. Dimitri kissed my forehead and pulled me closer to him. We sat like that for a few minutes, before we were called in for dinner.

Entering the kitchen, I was assaulted by an array of smells. Meat roasting in the oven, and cookies cooling on the stove. Lucy was sitting in a sort of high chair, that boosted her up closer to the table, she had a green crayon in her hand, and was scribbling on a piece of paper. A human woman with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes looked up from the tray she was removing from the oven when we entered. Her eyes lit up and she quickly set the tray on the stove, and wrapped her arms around Dimitri.

"It's so good to see you, you've grown so much!", she exclaimed.

"Ma, you saw him less than a month ago", Pandora said, irritation lacing her voice.

"I think I would have remembered that", the woman replied.

"You were just too damn drunk to remember", Pandora muttered under her breath. The blonde opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Lucy, who asked her to come color. The woman, who I presumed to be Sam, smiled softly at her youngest daughter and seemed to glided as she made her way over there. Dimitri wrapped his arm around me and led me over to the only two vacant seats at the table. On my left was Dimitri, and on my right was a teenage boy, who was texting.

"Kyle, you know the rule", Ashley said sternly to him. The boy just rolled his eyes in response and continued to type. Pandora reached across the table and snatched the phone away, scrolling through his messages. Her face contorted into disgust as she read on.

"Seriously? You're fucking twelve, you should not be sending these kinds of text messages until you're at _least_ 14", she said, before typing something then handing it back to him.

"What the fuck?", Kyle shouted "and by the way, I'm 15", he added

"Do _not_ yell at the table", Sam said sternly. Ivan leaned over and quietly asked Pandora something, her response made him laugh. I looked at Dimitri and he shrugged. After a few minutes, Ashley was able to get Kyle to calm down, and we were finally able to start eating.

Dinner consisted mostly of Kyle and Pandora glaring at each other, Ivan cooing at Dawn (Pandora had very reluctantly allowed him to feed her), Ashley and Sam trying to get Dimitri to have a decent conversation, and my mind wandering. I wondered what it would be like to have Christmas dinner with a family of mine and Dimitri's. A little boy who looked like his father, and the Belikova's swarming around a new baby girl. I imagined what it would be like telling Dimitri that we were going to have a baby, and the more I though of it, the more I ached to be a mother. After dinner we all went into the front room to exchanged gifts and eat dessert. Pandora had given Dimitri an extra large coffee mug with a stick figure with a cowboy hat and duster holding a stake, which she said was him. She had given me a gift card to a donut shop in court, saying that she had no idea what else to get me. She also gave me a pair of fuzzy handcuffs, saying that it would help with the red marks on my wrists. Dimitri looked mortified, and she and Ivan were laughing hysterically. Ivan then made a suggestive comment to Pandora, which made her throw his gift at him.

"Here, I hope you choke on it", she said, crossing her arms. He was so excited when he opened up a copy of Braveheart.

"You hate this movie", he said to her.

"Because it's completely ridiculous! It only took two god damn hours for the guy to die, they should have just done that in the first twenty minutes!" she exclaimed.

"Who cares, this is a quality film", he replied

"Ivan, the whole movie is completely inaccurate, it's the wrong war, and the queen would have only been about two when it actually happened", explained Dimitri.

"Well, then you and Pandora can talk about the historical inaccuracies while Rose and I watch this and The Patriot", he said.

"Another completely inaccurate movie", muttered Pandora.

"Go jump off a bridge", he said before hugging her. She punched him in response.

We finished opening the gifts and were chatting. Lucy and Dawn had both gone to bed when Dimitri, Ashley and I got a text from Hans. Immediately, the good mood had died, and was replaced by fear.

The wards had been broken, and Lissa was in trouble.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ch.13**

 **Rose POV**

Smoke filled my lungs as I staked a dark-haired strigoi. Her movements were erratic and you could tell that she was turned recently. That was the sixth one tonight. Fire users did their best to help, but it was difficult because of their sheer numbers. Everything had erupted into chaos, screams could be heard, and I felt helpless. Sure, I was fighting, but what about those who were being slaughtered? Or worse. I had lost track of Dimitri in the fight, but I had to believe that he was okay. I heard a high pitch scream, one that belonged to a child, and I ran towards it, but I was too late. As I rounded the corner, the strigoi bit a chunk of flesh from the boys neck, and his body was thrown to the side, next to the corpse woman with the same blue eyes and ash blonde hair. My hand covered my mouth, there was so much blood coming from that small boy. On the back of his neck, the strigoi had at least a dozen molnija marks surrounding a promise mark. He used to be a guardian. His reddish brown hair was illuminated by a dim streetlamp. He turned around, a wolfish grin on his face. His fangs were illuminated under the light.

"Just the girl I was looking for", he snarled, before lunging at me. I had recovered just in time to get out of the way. I aimed a kick at his chest, hoping to make him stagger, but it didn't work. I just barely dodged a hit he had aimed for my head. We traded hits and kicks, but while the longer the fight drew on and the more fatigued I was becoming, he just seemed to be getting stronger. I threw punches and aimed kicks at him repeatedly, but no matter what I did, nothing seemed to faze him. When I finally go some sort of an opening, I slashed my stake across his face, and he just laughed. It was the kind of laugh that made you shiver.

I tried again, but he caught my wrist in an iron grip. Pain exploded up my arm as a sickening crack filled my ears. My stake fell to the ground with a metallic clash, and I tried to hit him with my other arm, hoping that if there was a god, he'd take pity on me. I screamed, as he grabbed my other wrist , and snapped the bones in my arm as if it were nothing more than a toothpick. Black spots filled my vision, and it wasn't until that moment I realized who he resembled. His facial features matched the girl who had told me that her brother wanted revenge on both Dimitri and I. The girl who nearly eight months ago, crashed into our lives without so much as a warning. The striking resemblance between her and her brother was nerve wracking, the most significant difference was the red ring circling his irises.

"You must be Michael", I said through gritted teeth

I let out a gasp of pain as Pandora's brother twisted my already broken arm into an awkward position. I was vaguely aware of his response.

"You know, I was kind of hoping you'd do the whole 'why are you doing this to me', crap, it seems as though you already know though", he smiled a wicked grin. He picked me up by the collar of my jacket. My eyes flickered to the small boy, and tears pricked the back of my eyes. I wondered what they did to deserve this. _Nothing_. Michael looked at the boy, and turned his face back to me.

"I've got a sister around that age, I wonder if she would scream as much as he did", said the strigoi, nodding his head in the direction of the body.

"You won't get a chance to find out", a voice snarled, the strigoi spun around, chuckling when he saw who the voice belonged to.

"Little sister, I was wondering when you'd make an appearance", he let go of my wrists and I collapsed to the ground, the pain nearly unbearable both of my arms were useless, and bent in unnatural angles. I choked back a sob. I tried to move, but Michael pressed his foot onto my back with so much force, I got the wind knocked out of me. Dhampir's were strong, but Strigoi were stronger, and the more I struggled, the harder he pressed, and I was certain that he could easily crush my ribs right there, with just one foot. I cried out in pain

"Leave Rose out of this, it doesn't have anything to do with her _." Dimitri_.

"As god damn cliché as this response is, it has everything to do with her", he responded. "All you had to do was get her to tell us where the last Dragomir was, after that, you could have sucked her dry for all I cared. But you had to ruin it, you had to have it your way, you always do", his face contorted into a feral expression, "Now, things are going to go my way, and there's nothing you can do about it", he said, before picking me up again and plunging his pangs into my neck. I moaned in pain, and then pleasure before I started to fade.

I faintly heard Dimitri yell my name before my world turned black.

 **oOo**

"She'll be alright, she's lost quite a bit of blood and her ribs are bruised but she should make a full recovery", I heard an unfamiliar voice. There was a steady beep of a machine in the background, and the air was dry and smelled of antiseptics. Slowly, I opened my eyes, moaning as a bright light pierced my eyes.

"Roza", I heard frantic footsteps and felt a warm hand clasp mine.

"I'm so sorry", he whispered, "I'm sorry. I wanted to rush in and help you, but I didn't want to risk him hurting you more, I'm sorry I hesitated", he said, his voice sounding choked.

"Rose! I'm so glad your okay", I was engulfed in a hug from Lissa, her baby bump making it awkward for her.

"Yeah, me too, I just hope my wrists heal properly", I said, my voice raspy. Lissa just gave me a strange look. A new person shoved a cup of water in front of my face.

"Here", I looked up to see Christian, and I smiled at him gratefully before draining the cup dry.

"Knock knock", said yet another voice. I looked up to see Ivan standing at the doorway, Pandora behind him, her arms crossed over her chest defensively, and her eyes darting frantically around.

"How you feeling?", said Ivan, his hands shoved into his pockets. He pulled Pandora close to him, wrapping his arm around her protectively. She seemed to ease up a bit. Not much though.

"Adrian and Sydney send their wishes to get well, and an appoligy for not being able to show up", said Dimitri, still clutching my hand.

"How bad is the damage on my arm?", I asked. Thankful that the painkillers really did do a good job at killing the pain. I felt a bit of soreness, but that was it. Again, Lissa gave me a puzzling look.

"Rose, you're arms are fine", she said worridly.

"I heard the crack, and I sure as hell felt it", I said, holding up my arms to prove my point. The first thing I noticed was that they were in their normal position, no cast was present, they looked as though they hadn't even been touched.

"Um, my mom put the bones back together, it's going to be sore for a few days and you can't put too much strain on them but you'll be fine", Pandora spoke up for the first time.

"I would have done it but broken bones aren't really my strong suite", she said awkwardly.

"Thanks", I said, giving her a small smile. Lissa looked at her doubtfully.

"You're human", she said, matter-o-factly.

"Really? No shit", said Pandora, irritation leaking into her voice.

"You expect anyone to believe that you could use magic?", she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nah, I learned long ago to have low expectations for people. You can believe whatever the hell you want", she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Be nice", Ivan warned Pandora.

"Anyways, when can I get out of here", I asked, looking at Dimitri.

"The doctor wants to keep you overnight to make sure you're okay, and if all goes well you should be discharged tomorrow afternoon", he answered. I groaned.

"Do you have a problem with me", Lissa spoke up, looking at Pandora.

"What makes you think I have a problem with you?", she replied.

"Well for one, you've been nothing but bitchy to me since the moment we met. I invited you to dinner with us, and you were very unpleasant, and then you'retrying to take my best friend away from me", she stated. Pandora just waved her off.

"I'm not trying to steal your best friend, I already have two best friends thank you very much, and I happen to occasionally enjoy their presence. And as for being a bitch, that's just my personality. I'm mean to everyone. Yesterday I told Ivan that I hope he gets the plague and dies, and he's the father of my child", she said casually. Ivan's head snapped over to her.

"You have friends?", he said, faking surprise.

"Go get you're god damn intestines cut out by the French army", she said flippantly.

"Hey, Braveheart is a quality film and that was a bad-ass scene", Ivan defended.

"Both of you shut up", Dimitri said, sounding exhausted. Pandora just showed him her middle finger, and Ivan scowled. Not long after, the nurse came in and ushered everyone out, except Dimitri, who refused to go.

"Do you need anything?", Dimitri asked me. I smiled at him softly.

"I'm okay", I replied. I yawned and he kissed my forehead softly.

"Sleep, my Roza", he whispered. "I'll be here when you wake up"

"Hey Dimitri?", I said, looking up at him.

"Yes, love?"

"I love you", I told him before closing my eyes.

"I love you too, more than you'll ever know", he whispered. It wasn't long after that I drifted into a dreamless sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

It was New Years Eve, and Ivan and I had been invited to a ball hosted by the queen. I had been trying really hard to be more pleasant to her, since she was right, she had been really nice to me since she first met me and I had been a bitch. Rose and Dimitri had been assigned the first shift of guard duty, which would end at eleven, and they would join the party later. The queen had given all of the guardians at least part of the night off, so that they could do whatever they wanted. She even gave them all an invitation to the ball, saying that they were more than welcome to come if they wanted to. No kids were allowed, meaning Dawn had to be left home.

"You almost ready!", Ivan yelled at me.

I yelled a response back to him, and I put on my necklace that I had received from my mom for Christmas. It was a Celtic knot that was silver and it hung on a black cord. Apparently it had been given to her from her grandmother years ago, and she passed it onto me. It hung at the top of my sternum, just above my breasts. Because the occasion was formal, I wore a dark blue floor length halter dress, there were no designs or anything on it, and I liked it a lot. It was simple. I had borrowed it from Rose, so it was a bit big around the chest. I just wore black chucks on my feet though, it's not like anyone would be able to see my shoes. My makeup included nude colored lip gloss and smoky grey eye liner, I wore my hair down, since there wasn't much I could do with it. I had just cut it really short the day before, deciding that it was too long. I went downstairs, and just about fell over when I saw Ivan. I had to admit, he looked damn good in a tux. He chose to wear a tie instead of a bow around his neck, and he had the first few buttons undone on his white shirt. He, like me, wore converse, although his were red. It worked really well with what he was wearing. His eye's widened when he saw my outfit.

"Wow, you look… you look awesome", he stuttered. I blushed and grumbled a thank-you.

"Ashley and Sam just picked up Dawn, so we can head out whenever you're ready", he said smiling.

"I'm ready when you are", I responded. He nodded his head and grabbed my coat for me.

The walk to the palace wasn't long, but it was still cold as hell. Ivan wrapped his arm around me when he noticed that I was shivering. Finally, we had reached the palace, and I was greeted by a rush of warm air. Someone took our coats and pointed us to the ballroom.

The decorations were amazing. Silver and gold decorations littered the room, waiters carried trays of champagne. People danced to the music, which was really boring. It was some classical crap. Tables of food were lined along the edge of the room, and stone faced guardians lined the opposite wall. I saw Dimitri and was tempted to go grab a piece of cake and throw it at him, just for the hell of it. I decided against it though. Girls were swarming around Ivan, vying for his attention. Off to the edge of the dancing crowds, I spotted Sydney and Adrian dancing slowly, oblivious to the world around them. Lissa was walking around, greeting people, and Christian was at her side.

I headed over to the bar, and had just downed a shot of vodka when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around and was met with blue eyes and blonde hair.

"Hey, I'm Jessie", said a moroi, he smiled, showing his fangs, and I cringed. I was about to tell him to fuck off, when I remembered that I was supposed to start being less of a bitch.

"Pandora", I said, holding out my hand. He shook it, his hands cold. _Ivan's are warm_ , I though to myself.

"Would you like to dance?", he asked, looking at me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable.

"I'm here with someone", I said, turning around, hoping that he would go away.

"Come on, it's just one dance", he pleaded, his eyes looked at me as if he were about to pounce on me. I knew that look all too well, it was the kind of look that a vampire gives a feeder, it was the kind of look that I got throughout high school.

"No, I'd really rather not", I said, my voice hard. Jessie grabbed my arm and tried to drag me away. I looked around, hoping that someone would take pity on me. I would have yelled at him, telling him to go the hell away, but I didn't want to cause a scene. Jessie opened his mouth to say something when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"It's not very nice to grab someone when they say no", a voice growled. I looked up to see Ivan, and I've never been more relieved to see him than I was now.

"What's it to you", Jessie retorted.

"Stop talking to my girl, or we're going to have a problem", he responded, his voice hard. Jessie stalked away, grumbling something under his breath.

"Thanks, Ivan", I said, turning back around to order another shot.

"Oh no, you owe me after that", he said, I rolled my eyes.

"And how could I possibly repay you", I said, feeling a bit flirty.

"Dance with me?", he said. I rolled my eyes again but followed him to the floor. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I wrapped mine around his neck. Because both of us really suck a dancing, we kinda just stood there awkwardly.

"Hey, so, I had a question", Ivan asked, sounding nervous.

"Shoot", I replied. His being nervous makes me nervous.

"Will you ah, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked awkwardly. I smiled. You'd think that I'd punch him and tell him to fuck off, but I didn't.

"You know, I think I'm going to have to decline you're offer", I said, smiling wickedly. His face fell. He started to turn away, mumbling something about going to get a snack.

"Ivan", I called. He turned around to look at me. I walked up to him and stood on my toes, kissing him softly. His brow furrowed.

"I'm confused", he said. I laughed.

"Yes, I'll be you're girlfriend", I said smiling. He smiled back, and grabbed my waist, kissing me again. We stood there for who knows how long, lips locked, the world around us stopped. At least until someone decided to clear their throat. I looked over, and immediately blushed. We had an audience.

"Took you guys long enough", Rose said, a smirk planted on her lips. She looked stunning in a blood red strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline, the bodice was embellished with beads and her eyes were smoky. Her lipstick was deep red, and she wore diamond studs and a ruby hung off a silver chain on her neck. Her hair was pinned back away from her face, but hung loose in soft curls. Dimitri had his arm around her, wearing a classic black tux. They looked amazing together.

"You guys done for the night?", Ivan asked. Dimitri nodded his head in response. We went off to the side and talked for a bit until someone interrupted.

"Hathaway", a voice called. Rose looked behind her and groaned.

"What do you want Jessie", she said, irritation in her voice.

"Just wanted to say that you look absolutely gorgeous tonight", he said, giving her a cheeky smile, fangs and all. I stiffened when I saw that this was the same Jessie from before. He looked at me.

"You still owe me a dance", he said, winking.

"I don't owe you anything", I replied, my voice hard.

"Go away Jessie", Rose said, her tone leaving no room for debate. Jessie opened his mouth to respond before he was called by someone. He winked at me before leaving.

"I don't like him", I stated. He creeped me out. Rose laughed in response.

"Not many people do", she responded, her eyes shining brightly. I heard my cell buzz, and I immediately knew who it was. I looked at the caller ID, just to see if maybe I was wrong. It turns out that I was, however I would have taken the latter over this person any day. I grumbled that I had to take the call, and left the room. I knew that if I didn't answer it now, they'd keep calling until I did.

"What?", I snapped at the person on the other end of the phone. A voice started talking to me, and I only half listened. I wasn't in the mood to deal with this shit. I rubbed my left temple, feeling a headache coming on. I was debating whether or not I should just end the call when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I groaned, hoping that it wasn't the moroi ass hole from before. What I was faced with, was so much worse though.

"Fuck", I said.


	16. Chapter 16

**My computer started working again and I'm so happy! So yeah, my computer was being a little bitch and stopped working so that's why I didn't update sooner. Anyways, I wanted to give a shoutout to stardreamer2608, who has reviewed most, if not every chapter. THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE YOU! Of course I love all of you but they're my favorite XD Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapterDisclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

 **PLEASE READ: TRIGGER WARNING Rape and self harm**

 **Ch. 16**

 _I was debating whether or not I should just end the call when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I groaned, hoping it wasn't the moroi ass hole from before. What I was faced with, was so much worse though._

 _"Fuck", I said_

 **Pandora POV**

In front of me stood a man with dark brown hair and blue eyes. His skin was pale and his fangs glistened in the light. I'm not scared of a whole lot of things, there's not a whole lot that can make me freeze up. Andrew Dashkov was probably the one moroi that could do just that though. My phone fell from my hand and landed with a clatter on the floor. The screen had probably cracked, but that was the least of my concerns at the moment.

"Look at you, I haven't seen you in years", he said, a wicked smile on his face. I felt dizzy, and I wanted to scream for help, but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. _Shit._ I thought.

 _***Flashback***_

 _"Come on babe, you'll like it, I promise", he said, looking at me with those amazing blue eyes. I shook my head._

 _"No, I have to go, I have homework to do", I said before turning around. He and I both knew that was a lame excuse, I hadn't done a single homework assignment for the entire two weeks I've been here. A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I flinched._

 _"Please, I won't hurt you", he said. I turned around to tell him to leave me alone when he opened his mouth._

 _"You know you want to", he said, suddenly sounding very convincing. A small part of my mind screamed at me to leave, but the larger part ignored it. I nodded my head and he took my hand, leading me through the hall ways back to his dorm. The soft click of the door closing snapped me out of the trance he had put me in. He had used compulsion on me, and I was furious._

 _"What the hell?'", I shouted. I stalked towards the door to leave when he grabbed my wrist and spun me around so that I was looking at him. I yanked my wrist out of his grasp and backed up, he kept advancing though until I hit the wall. I looked to the side and attempted to bolt but he was close enough to grab my hair and pull me back. I screamed in pain. He pushed me and I stumbled, landing on the bed. He smiled wickedly at me before yanking my head to the side, and plunging his fangs into my neck. I cried out in pain before pleasure, and he laughed._

 _"You're just like you're mother, you'll do anything to get that bite, won't you?", he asked mockingly. I tried to shake my head but I was dizzy. I felt nauseous._

 _"Leave me alone", I mumbled, my words slurred. He had taken a lot of blood, not enough to kill me, but enough to weaken me so that I couldn't fight back. I felt his hands trail up my leg, they were cold, and it made me shiver in disgust. I tried to move but he was a lot stronger than I was. I felt his fingers run over my panties, and his lips crashed into mine. I bit him, hard, and he backhanded me. I cried out in pain again, knowing that the side of my head would be black and blue by the time I woke up the next morning. He growled._

 _"That wasn't very nice", he sneered. He pulled my skirt up and ripped off my panties, thrusting a finger inside me. I cried. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I wanted my first time to be with someone I loved, I wanted them to be gentle._

 _"God, you're so tight", he groaned before I heard his pants unzip. My body shook as I sobbed. He thrust inside me, not being gentle at all. I screamed as a sharp pain hit me. His fangs hit my neck again. I don't know how long I was there, I wanted to curl up in my own bed and never leave. Tears continued to trail down my face. Then suddenly, he was gone. I heard him yell and shout, but I didn't feel him. Maybe I had gone numb, I wasn't sure. I closed my eyes, I felt exhausted_

 _"Pandora?", a voice said worriedly. I didn't open my eyes, I didn't want to. I just wanted to sleep and never wake up._

 _"Pandora, I need you to look at me", I didn't want to, I was too scared to look up._

 _"Dimka? I need your help", said the voice. I was vaguely aware that I was being lifted up by strong arms._

 _"We should take her up to the nurse, see if she needs any medical help". This made my eyes snap open._

 _"No!", I yelled, before fighting my way out of the strong arms._

 _"Pandora, we need to make sure you're okay", said Ivan, his voice soft. There was sadness in his eyes. I didn't want his pity, I just wanted him to go away. I wanted to be alone._

 _"I'm fine", I said desperately, hoping that he would believe me._

 _"No you're not, come on", said Dimitri, before picking me up again. I tried to fight him but it didn't work._

 _"Please, just take me to my room", I pleaded, "I don't want to go there", I sobbed. I heard Dimitri sigh._

 _"Fine, but one of us is staying with you tonight", he said._

 _"Just to make sure you're safe", Ivan added. I opened my mouth to protests but I was cut off._

 _"It's that or the nurse, take your pick", said Dimitri. I buried my face in his chest as tears started streaming down my face again. I was tired of being helpless._

 _***End of Flashback***_

It took me a moment, but I managed to regain some of my confidence. Back then, I couldn't fight if my life depended on it, and my magic was pitiful at best. Now though? I was pretty confident that I could kick his ass. That doesn't mean I was any happier to see him though. I straightened up, looking into his eyes. _His eyes are so damn amazing_ , I thought.

"I have to go", I said, kneeling down to pick up my phone. When I went to grab it a hand covered it though. I looked up at Andrew, irritated.

"That's my work phone, so if you don't mind, I'd like it back", I said hoping he'd just go away.

"Come on, it's been what, nine years? I want to know what you've been up to. Come on, I'll buy you a drink", he said, giving me a dazzling smile. I stood straight and crossed my arms.

"Fine, you want to know what I've been up to? I graduated high school, I started college, I had a baby, and I'm pretty sure I could kill you if I really wanted to", I gave him a flirty smile before kicking him in the shin, snatching my phone from his hand and bolted. _Thank god I didn't wear heels,_ I thought to myself as I ran. My thoughts were interrupted when a hand grabbed my waist. I screamed, not wanting to go through hell again.

************ _Flashback******************_

 _My eyes were red and swollen, but I had shed all the tears I could. I briefly wondered if it was possible to run out of tears. I didn't wallow long on it. I walked the small space from my bed into the tiny bathroom and locked the door._

 _After it happened, Andrew decided to tell everyone that I was willing to do stuff with him, that I begged him to bite me. If I thought being a human at a school of vampires was hard before, then this must be what hell is like. Ivan and Dimitri had tried to make me come down at least for meals, but my appetite had been lost. didn't go to class (not that I did that before anyways), in fact, I had barely left my room in the past two weeks. I was living off of chicken noodle soup and juice boxes. Ivan said that if I wasn't going to come down and eat then I at least had to eat up in my room._

 _Looking in the mirror, I saw that my cheeks were sunken, and there were black circles under my eyes. Not wanting to look at myself any longer, I opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out what I was looking for. The cold metal felt good against my skin. I watched the blood well to the surface, fascinated at how it could appear so easily. I did it again, and again. By the time I heard a knock on the door, my arms were covered with bloody lines._

 _*********************End of Flashback*********************_

"Woah, hey, it's just me", said Ivan, holding his hands up and speaking to me as if trying to soothe an animal. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, you scared me", I said, trying not to sound scared.

"Why are you crying", he said, looking closely at me. I put a hand up to my cheek and realized that they were wet. I hadn't even noticed that I was crying.

"Nothing, don't worry about it", I said before turning away.

"Where are you going", he asked, coming after me.

"To get Dawn. Besides, I'm tired", I lied.

"Do you want me to come with you?", he asked.

"No, it's fine. Have fun", I managed to muster up a smile before kissing him one more time and turning away.

"Your coat's that way", Ivan said.

"I'll be fine, it's not that cold", I lied.

"It's eight degrees out", he said looking at me like I was crazy.

"See, not that cold", I replied, really not wanting to go back in the direction I came from.

"Whatever, suit yourself", he said, sounding irritated before walking away. I continued to head away from the party and to the exit. I opened the doors before setting out into the night.

 **Hope you all enjoyed it, the next chapter should be up sometime this week love you all! Please R &R**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys, here's chapter 17, I know it's a little later than promised, but at least it's here. Also, I was having a hard time figuring out how to continue on from new years, so I decided to just skip ahead. Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

* * *

 **Ch. 17**

 **Rose POV**

"Auntie Roza, come play in the snow!", yelled Paul, who was now eleven, but still adorable as ever. We were currently visiting Dimitri's family in Russia, and Pandora and Ivan decided to tag along, seeing as they both had family there. Pandora had managed to get us some tickets, saying that she knew a guy who could get them for really cheap.

"Alright, hold up, let me grab my gloves", I shouted back before turning into the house to grab my gloves. Dimitri was sitting in a plush chair by the fire, sipping hot chocolate and reading a book. Ivan was Braveheart, and Pandora and Olena were currently having a fight.

"I'm not going", Pandora stated, crossing her arms.

"Yes, you are, now get your coat and go over there", Olena said sternly.

"But they'll suck my soul out, and I'll die", she said, being overly dramatic. Yeva rolled her eyes.

"Pandora Margret O'Reilly, get your skinny ass into that car and go see your father", Yeva said, putting an end to the argument. Pandora muttered something about an old hag before being smacked with a dish towel.

"Take Ivan with you, if I hear the word 'freedom', one more time, I'm going to strangle him", Karoline said, continuing to help Sonya and Olena in the kitchen.

"Ivan, come on, we're leaving", Pandora called before grabbing her coat.

"Go change into something other than pajama's you look like you just got out of bed", Sonya said

"I did just roll out of bed", she retorted.

"Ivan, come on", she yelled before slamming the door behind her and going to start the car.

"Where am I going?", he asked as he got up to get his coat on.

"You're going with Pandora to see her dad", I said.  
"Cool, maybe I'll get to see Henry's head explode", he said smiling. I looked at Olena questioningly.

"Pandora's father is an alchemist, and was never too keen about the idea of his daughter associating with moroi or dhampirs", she explained.

"Auntie Roza, come on, we're building a snow fort", Paul came into the kitchen, tracking snow in. Karoline scolded him and told him to be patient.

"Uncle Dimka, will you come play with us too?", he asked, looking at Dimitri with those big brown eyes that matched his own.

"Yes, I'll be right out", he responded. Paul went back outside, running after Zoya, who was trying to make a snowman.

"Hey, how are you doing", I asked him. He was pretty upset last night, and the night ended with him going to sleep earlier than usual. He shrugged in response, getting up to grab his duster and boots. I sighed, wondering if Pandora was just as angry. I thought about what had happened last night, I wasn't with them, but the two of them could be easily heard through the walls of the house.

 **Flashback**

 _"So you never told me how Ivan is alive", Dimitri said to Pandora._

 _"Really, you want to do this now?", she asked._

 _"Fine, I used necromancy to bring him back. I was upset and it took a lot out of me and honestly? It was probably one of the worst things I could have done. It took months for him to recover, and the whole time I kept thinking about how wrong it was of me to do. He was suffering so much, and it hurt to watch", she said._

 _"So you wish you had never done it?", he asked. She sighed._

 _"It's not that, I'm glad he's back, I don't know what I'd do without him, or you", she said. "I just wish he didn't have to go through hell to get back to his usual self. He told me at one point that I shouldn't have brought him back, that I was being selfish. Who knows? Maybe I was", she sighed again._

 _"But why didn't you tell me?", Dimitri asked._

 _"Because I was angry, and I thought you deserved it, to not know. It was wrong of me and I'm sorry", she said, sounding more sincere than I had ever heard her._

 _"You think that saying sorry is going to cut it?", he growled, his temper rising. "I spent six years thinking he was dead, that I'd never get to see him again, and then you show up and tell me that you two have been screwing around the whole time", he said angrily._

 _"And, as if you not telling me wasn't enough, you told everyone else", he shouted._

 _"Maybe if you hadn't left then you would have known", she snapped._

 _"How do you even get people to just realize he's alive and not cause a ton of trouble?", he asked._

 _"It was kept on the down low, you know how it is, they don't want to cause a panic. It was a closed casket and his family moved after that. They couldn't deal with it. Even I couldn't find out where they went, they just disappeared. Although that made it a hell of a lot easier. Just tell people it was a case of mistaken identity, and ta-da, you go back to living normal", she explained._

 _"Except you decided not to tell me", he growled._

 _"Yeah, pretty much", Pandora replied shrugging._

 _"And nobody else told me because…", Dimitri said, waiting for Pandora to fill in the blanks._

 _"Because you didn't want to hear it. You never visited home and you barely even called. By the time you came back out here, we were already gone, and you were happy. Your mom didn't want to ruin that", Pandora replied. Dimitri opened his mouth to say something._

 _"And before you open your mouth, I asked her not to, told he that it was a better idea. I told her that I'd tell you when Ivan was ready."_

 _"That wasn't your choice to make", he growled._

 _"That's true, but what happened happened. Get over it", she replied before turning to go inside. He grabbed her wrist._

 _"Let go of me", she said firmly._

 _"You always have to have things your way, god forbid you think about anyone else", he snarled, his voice sounding deadly. The sound of a hand hitting flesh filled the air._

 _"Don't you ever say that I don't think about anyone but myself. That's a lie and you know it. I'd do anything for my family and friends. If I was able to support another kid and Ivan wanted to have one so badly, then I'd do it in a heartbeat if it meant making him happy. Would you do the same for Rose?", she asked before turning away, the door slamming behind her._

 _ **End of Flashback**_

* * *

 **What do you all think? I hope the flashback wasn't too confusing. Anyways, ooooohhh! Pandora's getting salty! What do you think Dimitri's gonna do? And Rose? Anyways, hope you all enjoyed and I shall update soon. I LOVE YOU GUYSSSS!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey you guys, I know I haven't been on in a while. So I re-read last chapter and realized that it was trash, but I felt it was necessary to move the story forward, but I apologize for trashy writing. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead.**

 **Ch. 8**

 **RPOV**

I shrieked as I was pulled down into the snow. Paul and Zoya had tackled Dimitri, knocking him into a pile of snow. I was pulled down with him, a smile on his face. In his eyes though I could see the wheels of his mind turning. I had an idea as to what it was that was on his mind, but I'd ask him later. Right now I wanted to enjoy seeing my fiancée carefree and happy. We continued to make snow angels and throw snow balls at each other until the sun started to set, turning the already cold air even colder. Walking in, I knew my cheeks were red and my mouth was curved into a smile.

"Roza, dear, you got a phone call while you were out", Olena informed me before returning to the kitchen. I went to check my phone after I had removed my wet clothes and noticed seven missed calls from Pandora and three from Ivan. Plus a few text messages from Lissa. Worried as to why they would call so many times I immediately rang Pandora.

"Hello?", the voice said. Her words sounded a bit slurred and I heard yelling in the background.

"Hey, are you okay? You and Ivan both called", I asked her.  
"No, my soul is dying as we speak, but that's not the reason I called. You guys and all the Belikova's have been invited to dinner. My grandmother made me call", she said.

"Hold on, let me ask", I sighed, walking into the kitchen. When I told Olena she smiled but said no.

"Tell Pandora to tell her grandmother thank you for the offer but that we already have a roast in the oven. You and Dimka should go though. I'm sure Margret would love to see him.", Olena said smiling before returning to the counter where vegetables were being cut.

After telling Dimitri, and him very reluctantly agreeing to go, we got into the rental car and set off. We pulled up to a fairly large house, with white shutters on the outside and a brick walkway leading up to the front door. The yard was covered in a fresh blanket of snow, giving it a winter wonderland effect. Dimitri wrapped his arm around me as we walked up the steps, and when we rang the doorbell, the sound of a small dog barking could be heard. To the right, I saw an old woman peak out the curtains before opening the door. Her arms were spread out wide and they immediately engulfed Dimitri in a big hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you, look how much you've grown up", a smile that reached her eyes was on her face, and a small dog trotted over and growled at us before being called.

"Holy fuck, I've never been so relieved to see you in my entire life", said Pandora, looking exhausted.

"So, great news", she said, not looking excited at all. "I have a new step mom, Charlotte, and I don't like her, she's mean. She also has a bitchy daughter who keeps glaring at me, which is weird because I haven't done anything to deserve that and she has a son who is kinda creeping me out, and I don't like him", she continued. "Anyways, come on in, my dad's about to have a fit and it's great", she rambled before turning around to walk further into the house. The woman sighed before waving us in. We got into the living room, and Ivan was sitting there staring intently at a middle aged man with glasses.

"Mr. Harris", Dimitri nodded towards him. The man just stood there stiffly. He had a grey suit on and a golden lily tattoo was on his cheek. Pandora plopped down next to Ivan, and he wrapped his arm around her, the man's jaw clenched. A boy who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen was sitting in an arm chair next to Pandora, he was texting, same as a girl who shared the same blue eyes and golden blonde hair. There was a tense silence.

"You gonna offer them a seat or what? You know, it's not very polite to make your guests just stand there", said Pandora to the man. They both shared the same grey eyes.

"Here, you can have my seat, I'm going to help Charlotte in the kitchen", he said before walking out.

"Hey", said the boy to me, winking. I ignored him and sat down next to Dimitri. The tense silence continued. The elderly woman walked in, the small dog trotting behind her. She looked at all of us.

"Justin and Eleanor, put you're cellular devices away and talk to your guests", she said in a tone that left no room for argument.

"My name isn't Eleanor, it's El", said the girl flippantly. Pandora snorted at this, trying to smother her laughter. The girl, El, glared at her.

"El? Why not Ellie or something like that?", she asked. "El just sounds stupid", she continued, a smug smile on her face.

"Pandora stop instigating", said the woman. "By the way, I'm Margret, it's a Pleasure to meet you Rose", she said before walking away. I looked at Dimitri questioningly, he just shrugged.

"Wait, so how old are you exactly?", Pandora asked the girl.

"I'm seventeen", she said. "What are you, like twelve?", she continued.

"Old enough to drink", replied Pandora coolly .

"I thought you were around eighteen or nineteen when I first met you", I admitted, thinking back to the day I met her and she broke Dimitri's nose.

"So I got a question, was Henry always like this", asked the boy, Justin.

"Yeah pretty much", Pandora replied.

"So just to be clear", I began "Henry is your father?", I asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately he is", she grumbled. After that we just sat there in an awkward silence. Justin and El had returned to their phones, and Ivan returned to eating chips and salsa. It continued on like that for a while until we were called in for dinner. We had soup, and Henry and his wife looked extremely uncomfortable the whole time.

"So tell me, what is it you do for a living", Charlotte asked, looking at Pandora. Her golden blonde hair was tied up in a neat bun, and she dressed like you're stereotypical house-wife.

"I work at a strip club", she responded, not looking up from her soup. This caused Henry to choke on his food, and Ivan to snicker. Charlotte gave her a forced smile.

"I see", she said before returning to her meal. I looked at Dimitri, silently asking him if she was telling the truth. Every time I had asked her about where she worked she dodged the question. He looked back at me and shrugged.

"Like mother like daughter", El muttered under her breath.

"What was that?", Pandora growled. El looked up, a smug smile on her face.

"Henry told us about his ex-wife, how she was sleeping around with other guys, and how much of a whore she was", she replied.

"Eleanor", her mother scolded.

"Keep on talking bitch and see what happens", Pandora said, her voice low and threatening.

"What are you gonna do, give me herpes?", El taunted. "You're mother was a slutty bitch and you're no better", she continued.

"I told you to stop talking", Pandora said before lunging across the table, her hands reaching for her step-sisters throat. Ivan tried to hold her back but Dimitri ended up having to pick her up and forcing her out the door. Pandora continued to curse at the girl and hit Dimitri, threatening to burn him alive.

She eventually calmed down after we got into the car, however she was still angry. She stomped into the house and up the stairs, slamming the door to her room shut. Olena poked her head out of the kitchen, an eyebrow raised.

"I take it the visit didn't go well?", she asked. Ivan snorted.

"That's one way to put it", he muttered.

"Ivan go see if you can calm her down, tell her I made some gingerbread, that should get her to come down", Olena said before returning to the kitchen. Ivan nodded his head before going up the stairs.

"Mama, I'm going to bed, I'll see you in the morning", said Dimitri before kissing his mother on the cheek and going up to his room.

"May I ask what happened that made Pandora so upset?", Olena said to me after offering me some gingerbread. It was a Russian desert that I sighed.

"Pandora's step sister said something about her mother and it made her angry", I said. I explained what exactly had happened and Olena listened.

"Ah, I see", Olena responded, nodding her head.

"Pandora and her mother have a difficult relationship, and gets quite upset when people compare them. Her mother was addicted to the endorphins from moroi bites, and Pandora resents her for that because it meant that her mother was unable to take care of her children properly", Olena explained.

"Yeah, she was too god damn high to feed her kids", said a voice. I turned around to see Pandora standing in the doorway. She walked in, grabbed a cup of water and sat down at the table.

"Do you not want any gingerbread?", Olena asked her. Pandora shook her head.

"Not hungry", she mumbled before looking at me.

"Tell Dimitri I said I was sorry", she said before getting up and returning to her room. After saying goodnight to Olena I left to go to bed.

I opened the door to Dimitri's room and was met with the sight of him laying on the bed reading a book in his boxers. He looked up and laid the book on the bedside table. He watched me as I changed into my pajamas, and when I got in bed he wrapped his arm around me.

"Roza, we need to talk", he said.

 **Damn! What's gonna happen? Maybe you'll find out if you read. I hope this chapter was better than the last. Please R &R! Goodbyeeeeeeeeeeeeeee**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys, so I appoligize for not updating recently, I've just been having a rough time, and spring break to top it all off. Anyways, here's chapter 19, so enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

 **Ch. 19**

 **RPOV**

"Roza, we need to talk", said Dimitri. Part of me panicked. He sounded so serious, for a brief moment, I was scared that he wanted to break up, but then I realized that he would never do that. Not without trying to fix whatever problems we had beforehand. Besides, I couldn't even think of anything that was a really big problem. I sat down on the bed and scooted closer to him. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.

"Everything okay?" I asked him.

"The other night, when Pandora and I got in a fight, she said something that got me thinking, and I've decided that she was right", he began. I decided to play dumb. I knew that he was referring to the idea of me wanting a baby and Pandora yelling at him for not doing it. But I wasn't going to let him know that, at least not yet.

"About what?", I asked, again, playing dumb. He took a deep breath before answering.

"If you want to have a baby we can", he said, "All I ask is that you take time off while you're pregnant and that you're careful when guarding Lissa. Don't take any risks, I'll do the same", he said. I looked at him, really looked at him. His deep brown eyes that were the color of chocolate, his shoulder-length brown hair, the ends still damp from the shower. His strong jaw lined with stubble, making him look dangerously sexy. After I took it all in, I leaned in to kiss him. In turn, he rolled over so he was on top of me, his weight on his forearms so that he wouldn't crush me. His lips captured mine and my hips raised up to grind against his, making him growl softly.  
I hooked my toes into the waistband of his boxers and pushed them down. He kicked them off and pulled my shirt over my head. His fingers lightly outlined the edge of my bra before they came around back and unclasped it, freeing my breasts from their confines. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his lips attached to my collarbone. I moaned in response as he nipped and sucked at the soft flesh. We continued on, clothes were removed and we were in our own world, kissing and moaning, until someone started banging on the door. We both froze, it was like a needle had popped the bubble we were previously in.

"Keep it down, I just got Zoya to go to sleep", Karolina said from the other side of the door before her footsteps faded down the hall. I slid out from under Dimitri to the other side of the bed, my face burning.

"Where are you going?", asked Dimitri, a wicked smile on his face.

"You heard Karolina, we have to stop", I whispered.

"She said we had to keep it down, not stop", he responded, a playful look in his eyes. He grabbed my wrists and I squealed, it was not a pretty sound. Humor danced in his eyes and he kissed me hard, rubbing his hands up and down my body. I moaned softly. Another bang came from the other side of the wall. I groaned.

"Both of you shut the hell up before I come in there and rip you apart, these walls are not soundproof", I heard Pandora shout before giving one last slam on the wall.

"How about we continue this another time", he suggested. "Unlike my sisters, she actually will come in here and I don't particularly want to deal with her at the moment", he said. I giggled.

"Alright", I said. "I love you", I whispered. He kissed me softly on the lips before pulling me close to him and wrapping his arms around me.

I woke up to someone banging on the door. Dimitri groaned and buried his head in my hair, mumbling to go away. Next thing I knew the covers were ripped away and I yelped as the cold hit my skin.

"Come on, we're going skating", said Pandora.

"As much as would love to see you naked Rose, seeing my best friends dick is kind of a turn off", Ivan said. "Get dressed", he continued before two pairs of foot steps walked away. Both Dimitri and I were blushing hard.

"They have no shame, do they?", I said looking at Dimitri.

"Not an ounce", he responded before picking me up bridal style and taking me to the bathroom.

"I vote that we finish what we started last night", Dimitri declared.

"I second that", I replied, thus the beginning of a very hot, steamy shower.

Nearly forty five minutes later, and both Dimitri and I feeling quite satisfied, we walked downstairs.

"Good morning", said Olena, a knowing look in her eyes. I could feel myself blushing.

"Finally, took you long enough", said Ivan.

"Hurry up, I'm ready to kick your ass in hockey", Pandora said. My head snapped up.

"I don't know how to skate", I said.

"Cool, that means you're on team Belikov", she replied, this earned a dissaproving look from Dimitri.

"It's not fair to her if we all know how to skate and she doesn't", said Dimitri.

"Well then you guys can have Ivan too, but I get Vika", she said before stating that she was going to go ahead and grab the hockey sticks and puck.

"I'll meet you guys at the pond, see ya", she said before bolting out the door. Dimitri looked at his mother.

"Vika is coming?", he asked his mother. We hadn't seen since we got here, she had been guarding her charge.

"Yes, it turns out her charge is an avid hockey player, and will be joining you all, so make sure you tell Pandora to be nice", she said. I gave Dimitri a questioning look.

"Ah, she has a tendency to be hostile towards moroi whom she doesn't know", he explained.

"Yeah, the first time I met her she threw a drink in my face", Ivan said. "For some reason it was a major turn on", he continued. This earned him a glare from Olena, which he just shrugged off. We finished breakfast before heading out. During the ride there, Ivan told me the rules and how to play, Dimitri throwing something in there from time to time. We got there and as soon as I opened the door I was engulfed in a bone crushing hug.  
"I'm so happy you're here", squealed Vika. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you sooner, but I've been really busy with my charge. He's been on a bunch of business trips, and after he got back from the U.S., he's asked me to tag along", she rambled. I just nodded in response, trying to keep up with everything that she was saying. She then gave the same greeting to Dimitri, a brief hug for Ivan, then rushed back over to the pond, beaconing us to follow her.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to my charge", she said excitedly. We followed until we reached Pandora and A moroi man. Pandora was glaring at him, but there was a small spark of fear in her eyes. The moroi man was looking at her like she was a meal. I cleared my throat, alerting them of our presence. The man looked away and a smile replaced his previous expression. The man had blue eyes, the kid that made you think you were looking into the ocean.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you", he said before taking my hand in his and bringing it to his lips.

"My name is Andrew Dashkov, and you are?", he asked.

"Rose Hathaway", I responded.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman", he said. Dimitri cleared his throat.

"Dimitri, how good it is to see you!", he said. Dimitri just nodded his head in response, his face betraying no emotion.

"And Ivan, a pleasure as always", he said. Ivan glared at him. I felt as though I was missing something.

"I must say Dimitri, your sister does an amazing job protecting me, I'm so lucky to have such a good guardian, and one as stunning as her as well", he said smiling. It wasn't the kind of smile you'd give to a friend, Andrew seemed to be taunting him, trying to get a reaction out of him. Dimitri took a step forward, his fists and jaw clenched. I put my hand on his shoulder. Something was clearly off. Andrew clapped his hands together.

"Now, what shall the teams be?", he asked.

"How about boys against girls?", Vika suggested, she seemed oblivious to the tension between the three men. Everyone just nodded their head in agreement. Dimitri led me over to a bench and helped me put my skates on.

"Hey, are you okay?", I asked him. He sighed.

"Just be careful around Andrew", he said. I nodded my head in response before allowing Dimitri to lead me over to the ice. After going over the rules once more, both teams went to their respected positions. Vika and Ivan doing the initial start off. The puck went over to our half of the ice and the whole thing became a blur. They were moving quickly, swinging their hockey sticks at the puck, never faltering. Me on the other hand, I was just trying not to fall over. A yelp made my head shoot over to see Andrew spitting out a mouthful of blood. Vika ran over to him.

"Are you okay?", she asked. The game had been put on hold.

"I suppose Pandora is still a bit sore after a disagreement we had had back at the academy", he said. The way he said 'disagreement', made it clear that it wasn't something small.

"Don't be a pussy, suck it up", said Pandora before skating over to the make shift goal and grabbing the puck.

"Come on, we'll start off again", she said, thus beginning another round of chaos. This continued for what seemed like hours, and it wasn't until Pandora fell onto her knees, her hands wrapped around her throat gasping for air that I decided nothing good could come out of this.

 **So it's not exactly how I wanted it to sound, however hat is the best I could do. Anyways, so now after a long ass time, we are finally beginning to get to the climax. But please keep in mind it will be spread out. Please R &R!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello friends! So here's chapter 20, now we're really beginning to get into the plot, next chapter I'm really excited for and am already being overwhelmed by my brain with ideas as to what's going to happen. Anything you guys definitely was to happen though? Just let me know!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to Richelle Mead**

 **Ch. 20**

 **Pandora POV**

My eyes began to water, and black danced in my vision. It was like I was having the air sucked out of my lungs. Sure, I had been an ass hole to Andrew, but in my defense he deserved it. Everything around me was blurry, and I saw a shadow knock Andrew over, and air rushed back into my lungs. I gulped down a breath of air, relieved to be able to breathe again. When I could stand up, I saw that Dimitri was holding Andrew up by his collar, Vika trying to pry him off. Ivan was right next to them, giving a deathly glare to Andrew. Rose had a hand on Dimitri's shoulder, presumably trying to calm him down.

"Quit it Dimitri", I said to him when I could talk without coughing. This snapped him out of his trance, and slowly, he lowered Andrew back to the ground. The moment his feet were flat on the floor and Dimitri had stepped away, Ivan was on top of the son of a bitch, hitting him hard. This made me angry, I wasn't weak, I didn't need someone to come in and protect me.

I stormed over and produced a strong gust of air from my hand, knocking Ivan off. He landed on his back, but I was too angry to care. Rose looked at me, her eyes wide.

"Stop", she said in the same voice that one would use to calm a wild animal. She took a step towards me and I used the same spell on her that I did with Ivan. She landed with a thud, and Dimitri ran over to her side.

"Are you okay?", I heard him ask her.

"Yeah, just a little winded", she replied. I stalked towards Andrew, my fists clenched. He tried get up, presumably to run, but before he could my foot landed on the middle of his back, the bottom of my skate was probably going to leave a mark, but I didn't care. I wanted to prove to everyone that I didn't need them to protect me. I began by forcing all of the oxygen out of his lungs. It wasn't hard to do, it was a simple manipulation of the air inside them. He gasped for breath, and I smiled, loving the sound of him choking. I was simply doing what he tried to me, the only difference was that I wanted to kill him, not just hurt him. I wasn't aware that anyone was charging towards me until I was already on the ground. Vika was on top of me, pinning my wrists to the ground.

"Let go of me", I growled, my voice not sounding like my own. I thrashed under her but she was stronger than I was.

"You need to calm down", she said, her voice hard. She was trying to protect her charge, and while a small part of me knew that she should have, the majority of me was too angry to care. Eventually I decided that it wasn't worth trying to fight her because lets face it, I wouldn't win. When I stopped struggling she slowly let go of my wrists and pulled me up. It wasn't until then that I realized just how scared everyone looked. Their faces may not have shown it but their eyes were a dead give away. Ivan advanced towards me and it was at that point that I bolted. I didn't know where I was heading, all I knew was that I had to get out of there. I kicked off my skates when I reached the end of the ice and just ran, my socks were going to become soaked and I was probably going to get frostbite but whatever, I just needed to get away from there. Ivan called after me, but Dimitri put a hand on his shoulder and said something to him. I ran, it was all I could do. I ran from the pond, from the people I considered family. I ran from the pain I had brought them. Not just now but always. I ran from the past, I ran from the present. I kept running until I couldn't breath. By then my feet were numb from the cold, my cheeks wet with tears. I collapsed to my knees, unable to stand any more. I didn't know where I was, nor did I care. I looked up to take in my surroundings. The streets were deserted except for a single person walking down the street. I got up, not wanting anyone to see me like this, even if it was a stranger.

"You okay", asked a gruff voice. I spun around, cursing at myself for not noticing the second man sooner. He had a hood on, making it so I couldn't see his face. His thin, tall, body gave him away as a moroi though. I briefly wondered why he was out alone, without a guardian or anything to keep him from becoming a midnight snack or something like that.

"Yeah, I'm fine", I said, not liking the way he seemed to be stalking towards me. I backed away.

"You sure? You look lost, let me help you", he said, continuing his advance.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for the offer though, I should be heading home", I replied.

"Come on, at least let me buy you a drink. I know this great place just down the street", he continued.

Part of me knew that it was a really bad idea, stranger danger and all. That side won. I shook my head.

"I really should be going", I said before turning away. He grabbed my wrist.

"Quit it", I said, yanking my hand from his grip. The guy just smiled wickedly, white fangs glistening in the moonlight. That's when I noticed his eyes, and the red ring surrounding them. I backed away slowly before turning to run. I didn't have enough energy left in me to use magic, maybe a couple of pathetic sparks at best. So I ran, again, but I wasn't fast enough. An arm wrapped around my waist, and I barely had time to process it before I felt a sharp pain in my neck, then everything went black.

 **There ya go! Hope you all enjoyed it, stay tuned for the next one. Let me know what you think is going to happen, I'd love to hear from you. As always, please R &R!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys! Here's chapter 21! Thank you to those who reviewed!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights belong to richelle mead**

 **Pandora POV**

My head was pounding, everything hurt, and my neck burned like hell. Kinda like when you get completely wasted and then end up getting attacked by a strigoi. I groaned and tried to stretch my arms, but couldn't. My hands were bound to the wall. The place looked like a medieval prison. The kind with the rats in the shadows and the skeletons hanging from the wall. The ones where the only light was from a grimy looking window . There weren't actually either of these things though (at least that I could see). A chill ran through me, and I looked down and saw that I was pretty much naked except for my bra and underwear. _At least it's a sports bra and not a normal one._ Regular bras were a pain in the ass, so I tended not to wear them unless I had no choice. There was a squeak, and the door opened.

"Nice to see you again", said a male strigoi, the one from the previous night, the one who bit me. He was tall and slender, his blonde hair was slicked back. His green eyes were cold and calculating, the red ring around them made him seem more menacing. His chalky skin showed that he wasn't new to being part of the undead scene.

"I've got to say, of all the sticky situations I've been in, I've never ended up in a dungeon. A bit medieval, don't you think?", I asked. I probably should have been scared, but I wasn't. If he had wanted to kill me then I'd be dead. Not chained to a wall.

"I've always had a fascination with the dark ages", he said.

"You got a name?", I asked him. I wanted to know who the hell it was that knocked me out.

"Of course, where are my manners? My name is Nathan", he replied. I snorted at the word manners.

"Yes, because it's such good manners to chain a girl up in her underwear. You should have at least bought me dinner first", I said, "Not to mention I'm not really into all that kinky shit", I replied. He stalked up to me and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"You talk too much", he stated.

"So I've been told"

"Most mortals would cower in my presence, but you don't even flinch when I touch you", he whispered.

"I don't scare easily", I said breathlessly.

"You should be scared, I could snap your neck in an instant. It would be so simple, like breaking a toothpick"

"If you wanted me dead then I'd be dead", I said, my voice hard. He threw his head back and laughed, the kind that you hear in horror movies, where the serial killer is about to catch the victim.

"So smart, your brother said that you were clever", he said. My eyes widened.

"Michael's here?", I asked. I wanted to see my brother. I don't know why, I knew he was a strigoi and he wasn't himself, but he was still my brother.

"No, he is away on an errand", Nathan responded, the way he said errand made my skin crawl.

"Care to elaborate?"

He chuckled in response.

"Not particularly. While this conversation is quite intriguing, it's making me a bit peckish", he said. I stiffened, not liking where this was going.

"That's cool. I know this great diner near Baia", I said, noticing my voice was beginning to sound panicky. He picked up on this too.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you", he said "much". He ran a finger along the scar that I had gotten when I fought against Michael months ago.

"You have such beautiful eyes", he murmured, "they're like molten silver", he continued. His finger continued to trail down from my jaw to my shoulder where my bra strap was. He hooked a finger around it and slowly pulled it down my shoulder.

"Hey, I don't do that kind of thing with strange guys", I said, my voice high. He just smiled wickedly, continuing to pull it down, slowly. It caused goosebumps to appear on my skin. I was panicking, I did not like where this was going. I did the only thing I could do, I kneed him in the crotch. My feet weren't chained to the wall, just my arms.

"You bitch", he snarled before grabbing my throat.

"I will make you beg for death", he growled before biting into my neck. I screamed in pain. I tried telling him to stop, that I was sorry. It felt like I was being burnt alive. I felt like I was fourteen again, back when all I could do was cower in fear.

There are two kinds of strigoi bites. There are the ones that make you high as a kite, then there are the ones that make you feel like you're insides are on fire. His fangs felt like knives that had been plunged into my neck, I slowly felt myself fade away, but not before wondering how the hell I was going to get out of this mess.

 **Rose POV**

A couple hours after we left the pond and returned home, we went out searching for Pandora. She hadn't returned and while Olena tried to reassure us that she was probably just at a bar somewhere getting drunk (a common reaction to her becoming upset), Yeva had said something about needing to find her before the darkness consumed her. I had responded by arguing that it was in fact night time out, and therefore dark. Her words however, made Ivan uneasy. And that's why we were hanging around a deserted street.

"Ivan, there's nothing here", Dimitri said to his friend.

"We have to find her, she could be in trouble", he countered, his voice panicky.

"Hey guys?", I said. "I think I found something" Ivan walked over, his eyes desperate. There was a small trail of blood that stood out against the white snow. It wasn't much, just a few drops really, but it was something. Ivan crouched down and ran his fingertips lightly over the snow before grabbing something and lifting it up. It was a silver pendant on a black cord, the one that Pandora always wore around her neck. Looking at it closely, I noticed that there were traces of blood on the cord, and a light coat of it on the pendant.

"I don't think she's at a bar", he said gravely. We searched a bit more after that but not having much luck.

"Ivan, it's late. We're all tired. Let's go home, and we'll come back out tomorrow and search some more", said Dimitri, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"It might be too late tomorrow, she could be anywhere by then, we have to find her", his voice became more panicky by the second. Dimitri sighed.

"She could be anywhere now, come on, let's go", Dimitri replied.

"What if it were Rose?", Ivan countered. "Would you wait to go find her then? Not knowing where she was or whether or not she was hurt?" he continued. His voice was hard, daring Dimitri to challenge him.

"Ivan, come on, we have to go", Dimitri said, ignoring the question. His voice was hard.

"If you want to go back then be my guest, but I'm going to stay and look for her", Ivan replied, his voice determined. Dimitri sighed.

"Ivan, we're not leaving you here alone", I said softly.

"Then stay with me, but I'm not leaving", his tone left no room for arguments. We continued to search for a while, it didn't do much good considering we were getting colder by the second and we were all exhausted. Ivan was becoming more and more frustrated with the lack of progress.

"Ivan, we've been searching for hours, come on. It's time to go", I said softly. He took a deep breath before walking back in the direction we came from, his expression one of defeat.

The walk back to the house was silent, and by the time we reached it the sky was pink, the first signs of dawn. Ivan looked up and smiled softly.

"You know, Dawn was named that because it was Pandora's favorite time of day. She always said that it was the only time where you could really find peace", he looked at me.

"Of course she was high as hell at the time she told me that, I doubt she even remembers it. She'd never admit to that sober", he took a deep breath and sighed, looking at the sky again before going into the house. Dimitri wrapped his arm around me and led me into the house. When we got to the room I collapsed on the bed, completely exhausted. The last thing I remember was Dimitri kissing my head softly and whispering sweet words to me as I drifted off.


End file.
